Arozarena reminds Cardinals of trade cost in Mariners’ win

Facing his former team, Randy Arozarena drove in four runs to lead the Seattle Mariners to a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

Arozarena, who was 2-for-4 in the first game of the series versus St. Louis struck again last night, with a three-run home run off of Matthew Liberatore in the third inning. In the fourth inning, Arozarena drove in another run with a sacrifice fly.

To make matters worse for St. Louis, Arozarena did this damage against Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore, the player that he was traded for in 2020.

Since being traded by St. Louis, Arozarena has haunted his former team. In his last 10 games versus the Cardinals, he's batting .350 with two home runs and 12 RBIs. 

The trade, which sent Arozarena to Tampa Bay in exchange for Liberatore, is one Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak would certainly want back.

St. Louis made the move to clear a crowded outfield and create more opportunities for prospect Dylan Carlson—a decision that hasn’t aged well. 

Since leaving the Cardinals, Arozarena has won AL Rookie of the Year, earned two All-Star nods and helped lead Tampa Bay to the 2020 World Series. Between his time with the Rays and Mariners, he’s compiled 17 WAR and is having another strong season in 2025 with 27 homers, 73 RBIs and 27 stolen bases.

Liberatore, meanwhile, is still just 25 and showing improvement. He’s enjoying his best season to date with a 4.35 ERA but has yet to match the production Arozarena has delivered since the trade. 

Although he offers tremendous upside, it's hard to imagine him exceeding the value St. Louis would have gotten from Arozarena, had they held onto him.