While he was seen in and out of the clubhouse while reporters were talking to Andr\u00e9s Mu\u00f1oz and Miles Mastrobuoni about their experiences in the WBC, Arozarena declined to speak with the media. He did issue a statement<\/a> through the team.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t get the results we wanted with Team Mexico, but I\u2019m glad to be back in camp with my teammates. The WBC is behind us now, and I don\u2019t want anything to take away from the Mariners. I\u2019m focused on the season and helping this team compete for a World Series.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier in the day, Dan Wilson spoke to Arozarena before he embarked on his work in the cages and termed it as \u201ca chance to say hello.\u201d Despite the outside focus on the event, Wilson believes inside the Mariners clubhouse the situation between Arozarena and teammate Cal Raleigh<\/a> that arose during the WBC should not linger.<\/p>\n \u201cI think our goal here is to win a World Series,\u201d he said in his morning meeting with the media. \u201cAnd putting that behind us is a big part of that goal. And I think that\u2019s what we\u2019re looking to do. So I think our focus now really becomes March 26th (opening day) and getting started on the season. And that\u2019s how we\u2019re looking at it.\u201d<\/p>\n For his part, Raleigh addressed the situation almost immediately in a FaceTime interview with three members of the Seattle media from Daikin Park in Houston the next day. His message was clear. He said he loved Arozarena, it was not his intention to slight him in any way and he told Arozarena he was sorry if he felt disrespected. It\u2019s worth noting there are reports he asked Arozarena before the game to not try to shake his hand as he did with Team USA catcher Will Smith in the 2023 WBC.<\/p>\n And the words Arozarena had for him? Raleigh just didn\u2019t believe anything about the episode should be a thing, and he certainly didn\u2019t want it to linger and impact the Mariners.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, when we\u2019re back in Seattle, we\u2019re family, we\u2019re brothers, and I\u2019ll do anything for him,\u201d Raleigh said. \u201cI\u2019ll do anything for our team to win. To me, it shouldn\u2019t be that big of a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n Josh Naylor, to his credit, did his best to quell the controversey Friday night, jokingly offering his hand to Raleigh in his first at-bat against Team USA and talking about his intention after Team Canada was eliminated from the WBC.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were all just joking. Trying to really make light of the situation,\u201d he said. \u201cI texted him before that I was going to do it. He said, \u2018Please don\u2019t.\u2019 But me and Cal are really good friends. He\u2019s an awesome teammate and honestly one of my favorite teammates I think I\u2019ve ever had in my career. He\u2019s such a leader, too. I was really, really happy to get traded to the Mariners last year and kind of experience being in the locker room with him.\u201d<\/p>\n By all appearances, except for the day after the event when there were some chuckles and \u201cI\u2019m definitely not saying anything about that one,\u201d from players, for now this appears to not be an issue in the clubhouse. The outside noise, however, is still very, very loud.<\/p>\n More on the Seattle Mariners<\/p>\n \u2022 Cal Raleigh leaves another Seattle Mariners teammate hanging at WBC<\/a>
\u2022 Drayer: The reason Cole Young is having a good spring isn\u2019t what you think<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Seattle Mariners Notebook: A big opportunity for Kade Anderson<\/a>
\u2022\u00a0Why No. 3 overall pick Kade Anderson wanted Seattle Mariners to draft him<\/a>
\u2022 OF Brennen Davis seizing expanded opportunity in M\u2019s camp<\/a><\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/SeattleSportsEmail-830x100-1.jpg\")
\t