Mariners' Randy Arozarena refuses to let Cal Raleigh beef die with latest IG story

A couple days ago, it was easy to assume Randy Arozarena was probably joking with his profane rant about Seattle Mariners teammate Cal Raleigh. But now that Arozarena has made his feelings about respect during competition known, maybe not so much anymore.

Even when he had the chance to give his side of the story after Raleigh gave his take on the out-of-nowhere Mariner vs. Mariner drama at the World Baseball Classic, Arozarena was conspicuously silent. Thus did a controversy that might have died a quick death get to live on, with everyone still not totally sure whether Arozarena was actually stewing about a spurned handshake.

Arozarena still hasn't said anything, but he did sort of issue remarks on Instagram on Thursday. He shared a post showing Venezuela's William Contreras embracing the Dominican Republic's Fernando Tatis Jr., with a caption in Spanish: “El respeto entre Venezuela y la República Dominicana incluso cuando luchan por el 1er lugar.”

Or, in the English translation: “Respect between Venezuela and the Dominican Republic even when they’re fighting for first place.”

Randy Arozarena's Instagram post is the latest blow against sarcasm theory for beef with Mariners' Cal Raleigh

Even if it was only a couple days ago, it's worth getting back into why, exactly, the "Haha good joke, Randy" read on Arozarena's Raleigh rant took hold in the immediate aftermath.

For one, it's unusual to insult another guy after pausing to shower his parents with genuine praise. For two, there was some online commentary (h/t JoezMcfly and Master Flip) suggesting that some cultural nuances were literally lost in translation.

And yet, the situation ultimately needed some kind of clarity from Arozarena. Raleigh talking about how much he loves his teammate was one thing, but nothing could have put a final nail in this whole thing like Arozarena making it clear that the sarcasm theory was the right one.

That still hasn't happened. And now, you wonder if it ever will.

Even if you're reluctant to call it "beef," the Raleigh-Arozarena drama clearly isn't a nothing burger. It need not be a lasting problem for the 2026 Mariners, but the two stars will obviously have some air to clear once they're back together in the Mariners clubhouse.

For that, it's Arozarena who'll need to take the initiative. It would be one thing if he felt disrespected because he had no warning that Raleigh was going to deny him a handshake at the WBC. However, there's mounting evidence that Arozarena indeed knew ahead of time that Raleigh and Team USA weren't getting in on the tournament's party atmosphere.

A weird hill to die on? Perhaps. But if Arozarena is indeed committing to the disrespect bit, that's an even weirder choice. It was just a handshake, and it does feel like he's now on defense in the court of public opinion against…[checks notes]…the AL MVP runner-up and one of the most popular and well-liked players in baseball.

Meanwhile, Mariners fans just keep mumbling the same prayer that first escaped their lips on Monday night: Please make it stop.