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Randy Arozarena issues bizarre statement in wake of Cal Raleigh handshake incident

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Mar 14, 2026 4:51 PM ET

Seattle Mariners outfielder Randy Arozarena still appears to be nursing some hard feelings over Cal Raleigh’s refusal to shake his hand during a World Baseball Classic game.

Arozarena issued a statement Saturday through the Mariners saying the WBC is “behind us” and he was looking forward to helping the team chase a World Series.

Curiously, the statement makes no direct reference to the Raleigh incident, and does not really say anything of note to begin with.

The Mariners might have been better off not issuing a statement, because it just causes more confusion than it clears up. The team presumably wanted to put any perceived conflict between Arozarena and Raleigh to rest, but this does not really do that.

Randy Arozarena who returned to camp today has released the following statement through the #Mariners pic.twitter.com/TgNwpz2uZk
— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) March 14, 2026

In fact, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that Arozarena actually vented to his Puerto Rico teammates about the snub.

Randy Arozarena vented privately to Team Mexico teammates, but declines to publicly address incident he had with catcher Cal Raleigh upon return to Mariners camp and instead issues statement https://t.co/LYRa5nETap
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 14, 2026

Arozarena had some harsh words after Raleigh ignored him during a plate appearance when Mexico played the United States during the WBC. Raleigh downplayed the incident and said he was just competing and had no problem with Arozarena. Whether Arozarena sees it that way is still not entirely clear.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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