In the aftermath of the World Baseball Classic, and just days away from the 2026 MLB season getting underway, Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena appear to have hashed things out.
Shortly before the Mariners’ spring-training victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday, Arozarena released a statement through the team to address the lingering controversy, according to The Seattle Times’ Ryan Divish.
“I understand that with Opening Day a few days away, I don’t want it to be a distraction. 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 echoed those sentiments in speaking to reporters, adding that he and Arozarena “talked it out and everything went great.”
“Randy knows that I love him and he’s a brother. It’s in the past and none of us are carrying this forward. We’re in a good spot. We talked it out. We’re both sorry, and we both got in a good place, and we’re both happy to be here, too,” Raleigh said.
Their comments stemmed from the teammates sharing a moment in the first inning of a WBC pool play game between the United States and Mexico. Arozarena walked up to the plate and extended his hand to Raleigh for a greeting — even though Raleigh had told him not to — and was met with no response from the backstop.
The somewhat awkward interaction then went viral when Arozarena addressed it post-game and ended his emotionally charged response by saying Raleigh should “(expletive) off” and “go to hell.”
When asked about Arozarena’s reaction and post-game comments, Raleigh said “I hate that this is a thing. I really don’t think this is a big deal, a big story. It shouldn’t be a thing. You know, I love Randy. I have all the respect for him and Team Mexico. I already reached out to him personally to talk with him. And obviously, when we’re back in Seattle, we’re family, we’re brothers, and I’ll do anything for him. I’ll do anything for our team to win. To me, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal.”
Mariners manager Dan Wilson was also asked about his thoughts on the matter and his two star players seemingly squashing their beef.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” he said. “That’s what we’ve talked about in that clubhouse, it’s a special group. They love each other. I think we’re all ready to get back to Seattle and get this thing started.”
The Mariners start their 2026 campaign on Thursday, hosting the Guardians for a four-game set.
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