WASHINGTON -- The banged-up Mariners took another injury hit on Friday night, and maybe their biggest yet.
Randy Arozarena was forced to exit during the third inning of Seattle’s series opener at Nationals Park with an apparent leg injury after attempting to beat out an infield single.
The club did not have an immediate update.
After the groundout to third base, Arozarena came up gingerly and was examined by assistant athletic trainer Kevin Orloski, before slowly making his way back to the visiting dugout on the other end of the diamond.
He dialed up his sprint speed to 29.3 feet per second, his third-fastest tracked run of the season, while going home-to-first in 4.34 seconds, his fourth-fastest such time this season. Both numbers underscored hustle, even with the Mariners holding a five-run lead that he helped orchestrate.
Arozarena singled in the second inning, stole second base for his 19th of the season then scored on a two-run triple from Dominic Canzone -- continuing what’s been the most productive first half of any Mariners hitter.
Moments after the incident, Arozarena was substituted for Victor Robles, who took over in right field, with Luke Raley shifting from right to left field. Robles proceeded to make an impressive leaping grab at the wall on Keibert Ruiz, in his return to the ballpark that he grew up in.
Arozarena leads the team in every slash line category, with a clip of .291/.377/.448 (.825 OPS), to go with seven homers, 18 doubles, one triple, 33 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. At this rate, he’s likely headed to his third All-Star Game.
He also played every inning over each of Seattle’s first 70 games, and overall, has been one of MLB’s most durable players since becoming a full-time player in 2020. Since then, he’s played in 852 games (20th-most) and at least 150 games per year since 2022, including a career-high 160 in 2025.
And he’s never been on the injured list for a baseball-related injury.
Bigger picture, the Mariners are already without their top run producer (Cal Raleigh), best contact hitter (Brendan Donovan) and veteran shortstop (J.P. Crawford). And that’s only on the position-player side, as the club also lost its setup man (Matt Brash) and most versatile reliever (Cooper Criswell) to the IL during their four-game split in Baltimore earlier this week.
Raleigh and Crawford, however, are expected back on their next homestand, which begins Tuesday.