'We are brothers': Arozarena ready to move on from handshake dustup with Raleigh

PEORIA, Ariz. -- The story that the Mariners have been looking to move on from reached what they believe is its final chapter on Saturday, when Randy Arozarena issued a second statement on his exchange with Cal Raleigh at the World Baseball Classic nearly two weeks ago.

“I understand that with Opening Day a few days away, I don’t want it to be a distraction,” Arozarena said, via the team. “Cal and I have talked and I apologized for what I said after the game. Nothing in the WBC takes away from the fact that we are brothers and teammates. He’s family, and we are both focused on helping the Mariners win the World Series.”

Raleigh then followed up after playing eight innings during the Mariners’ 7-1 loss to the Cubs, their penultimate Cactus League game, later Saturday night.

“We talked it out, and everything went great,” Raleigh said. “Randy knows that I love him, and he's a brother, and it's in the past and none of us are carrying this forward. We're in a good spot. We talked it out. We were both sorry, and we both got in a good place and we're both happy to be here, too. It was really good walking in the door and seeing everybody. As fun as [the WBC] was, it was nice to feel back here. It feels like the family's all back together in a way.”

Mariners manager Dan Wilson also addressed Arozarena’s statement positively.

“It doesn't surprise me,” Wilson said. “That's what we've talked about in that clubhouse. It's just a special group. They love each other, and yeah, it's time. I think we're all ready to get back to Seattle and get this thing started.”

Saturday’s statement from Arozarena was more detailed than the one he issued a week ago upon returning from the Classic, which did not address Raleigh by name. At that time, he also preferred not to take questions.

Raleigh has been back with the Mariners in Arizona since Thursday, and the two were in the same Cactus League lineup that night against the A’s at Hohokam Stadium. Postgame, they were seen going through the customary fist-pump line after a 6-4 win, with Arozarena also slapping Raleigh on the area that’s earned him the most recognizable nickname in the sport.

“It's been crazy the last few days,” Raleigh said. “You almost feel like everybody is trying to get their last-second stuff in, and you have guys coming in, trying to get acclimated again. And then we're all going to be bouncing over here. But like everybody here, we're family, and we've played with each other before, and we're excited.”

Raleigh first addressed the situation in its immediate aftermath on a FaceTime with three Mariners beat reporters on March 9, in which he expressed remorse about the perception of disrespect that Arozarena took for Raleigh not shaking his hand in the batter’s box during their WBC matchup in Houston the night prior. After that game, Arozarena issued choice words toward Raleigh in Spanish during an interview with Mexican journalist Luis Gilbert.

That part of the story has been well chronicled.

But it had lingered largely because, at least until Saturday, Arozarena hadn’t actually addressed the exchange other than his initial statement, which read:

“We didn’t get the results we wanted with Team Mexico, but I’m glad to be back in camp with my teammates. The WBC is behind us now, and I don’t want anything to take away from the Mariners. I’m focused on the season and helping this team compete for a World Series.”

Raleigh, in that call with Mariners media, expressed remorse about the situation.

“I reached out to Randy and told him, essentially, 'I'm sorry if you felt disrespected,' or whatever it may be.” Raleigh said at the time. “But we're just playing the game. I think he would want the same if I was his teammate and we were playing somebody in a playoff game. Or he'd want that same kind of energy from me. So I think that's kind of how I see it. And I reached out and put it to bed.”

Because both the exchange and Arozarena’s first postgame interview went viral, speculation mounted on whether there was a rift between two key players for a team with legitimate World Series aspirations.

But it’s also evident that, with Opening Day looming, both are ready to move on.