Cal Raleigh claims he loves Randy Arozarena

HOUSTON – A day after Randy Arozarena ripped him for snubbing him at the plate, Team USA catcher Cal Raleigh delivered a statement claiming he loves his Seattle Mariners teammate and sees him as “family.” 

After speaking with Seattle beat writers earlier in the day, Raleigh dodged questions from national media at Daikin Park before Team USA faced Italy on Tuesday night. 

Raleigh sounded as though he had met with crisis control managers. The All-Star slugger declined to take follow-up questions after making one exception. 

‘No beef’

“Obviously regarding the thing yesterday with Randy, I love Randy,” Raleigh claimed. “I do. I hate that this is a thing. There’s no beef. When we get back to Seattle, we’re family. I already reached out to him. It’s just a competitive environment. I just have a responsibility for my teammates here right now and my country. Emotions are running high.

“I love Randy. He’s been awesome. He’s been great for our team. Like I said, we talked. This isn’t a big deal at all. We’re good friends. We’ll continue to be good friends. I think we’re just enjoying competing against each other. That’s really all I have to say about it.”

Arozarena, one of Team Mexico’s biggest stars, blasted Raleigh late Monday night after Team USA’s 5-3 victory over Mexico. Three years after Team USA catcher Will Smith snubbed him in a similar manner, Arozarena tried to greet Raleigh with a fist bump or handshake before his first at-bat.

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Arozarena appeared surprised when Raleigh left him hanging. At one point, he leaned toward his crouching Mariners teammate to see why he wasn’t shaking his hand.

According to Arozarena, Raleigh said, “Good to see you.” That clearly wasn’t enough for Arozarena.

After the game, Arozarena complimented Raleigh’s parents and said they were well educated. Then, he used Cuban and Mexican variations of the slang expletive before saying Raleigh to stick his greeting up his behind.

Cal Raleigh refused to elaborate

“I shot him a message this morning and reached out,” Raleigh said. “Like I said, I don’t anticipate this being a thing going forward.”

When asked what Team USA responsibility calls for him to snub his Seattle teammate, Raleigh refused to say.

Cal Raleigh issued a statement claiming he reached out to Randy Arozarena via text today. He took only one question, but wouldn’t say what “responsibility” to Team USA prompted him to leave his Mariners teammate hanging.
He claims he “loves” Randy & that they are “family.” pic.twitter.com/AYhMGe0o8x

— Jose de Jesus Ortiz (@OrtizKicks) March 10, 2026

“I’m just going to leave it at that,” Raleigh said. “I love Randy. I’m excited to play with him this year. LIke I said, we’re having a fun time here at the WBC. I’m looking forward to trying to bring forward a championship for our team.”

Team USA manager Mark DeRosa said that he would not have had a problem if Raleigh had “dabbed” Arozarena.