CBS Sports Randy Arozarena-Rangers prediction is a mistake that Texas must avoid

Sometimes, as you're surfing around some sports websites, you come across a writer who makes such a bizarre prediction that you know he is a national guy who doesn't follow your local team very closely. Such is the case with this Texas Rangers proposed free-agent fit.

CBS Sports baseball writer Mike Axisa brought us one of those headscratchers, with a questionable forecast for free agent outfielder/DH Randy Arozarena to the Rangers this offseason. Tell me you don't know anything about what the Rangers are trying to do or what they need without telling me you have no idea what the Rangers are trying to do or what they need!

To be clear, we aren't out to get Axisa. He is a knowledgeable writer with a reputable outlet. Still, he just showed that his job only allows him to cover small snippets of 30 teams instead of a comprehensive 24/7 overview of one team like Nolan Writin.

Randy Arozarena is a poor fit for the Rangers for several reasons

Axisa predicts that Arozarena will be an attractive free agent piece for the Rangers, writing, "Chris Young has already talked about his team needing more grit and being better at rising to the occasion offensively. That's Arozarena, who can be a flashy player but is also tough and hard-nosed, and has shown time and time again that he is unafraid of big moments. He needs to DH full-time at this point in his career, and the Rangers can give him that runway. A righty power bat to complement Brandon Nimmo and Corey Seager feels imperative."

He's not entirely wrong when he claims that Young wants a tougher team that will be more competitive night in and night out — particularly on the road against lesser squads. But the answer certainly isn't another aging, eventual DH who is a liability on defense in left field.

Arozarena is a player that Rangers fans know well, as he has spent the last three seasons with AL West division rival Seattle Mariners. With a .255 career batting average, he's a decent hitter who will give you 20-25 home runs a year and somewhere around 65-80 RBIs. He managed to hit .281 in his "pay me" year in 2026, but before that he hit .238, .231, .211, and .219 in the four years prior. A big swinger, Arozarena is also a big strikeout guy who has averaged 170 Ks over the past two seasons.

He's always reminded us of Adolis Garcia's little brother. He's a fiery, flamboyant player, but with less power, run production, and nowhere near the glove work and golden arm that Garcia displayed in his prime. If he played a competent center field, then Young's outlook might be a little different given the latest Evan Carter surgery and setback.

Plus, the Rangers already have a glut of injury-prone potential DHs in Corey Seager, Josh Jung, Wyatt Langford, and possibly Joc Pederson if he is brought back. The biggest thing that Young said in his "state of the team address" the day after another disappointing season concluded were the words "younger ' and "more athletic". Arozarena will steal an occasional base, but is not what the organization is looking for next season or the season after that.

He will turn 32 before 2027 starts, and his defensive metrics in left field have gotten progressively worse over the last several seasons. He has minus-minus range and minus-minus arm value. Young is too smart and too savvy to look at Arozarena's contract-year success and believe he can sustain the 2026 slash line moving forward. He isn't the type of player the organization is trying to find to improve what has been wrong in Arlington since the 2023 World Series season.

The other key issue with going after Arozarena is financial. Entering his age-32 season in 2027, Arozarena is predicted to get a contract in the neighborhood of four years and $100 million. That sounds like something the pre-2026 Rangers would do during their big spender era, and not what the current, more fiscally responsible iteration of the front office can stomach.

On top of that, this contract projection comes after the Mariners slapped Arozarena with the qualifying offer. Texas's farm system is just beginning to heal, and one of the reasons it got into its sorry state was the loss of draft picks from signing QO free agents. The future of the organization hinges on building a sustainable talent pipeline, and losing a draft pick for a guy who may be good, but isn't great, is in heavy contrast to that objective.

This is the first scuttlebutt we've heard of Arozarena to Texas, and hopefully, it will be the last. There are much better ways for the club to solve its outfield needs and use its scant resources.

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