Rays' Arozarena feeling down amid struggles: 'I'm not carrying the load'
Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena feels like he's letting his team down after one of the worst starts to a season in his career.
"I know things haven't worked out the way I expected, the way I've played (compared to) the way I played last year," Arozarena said, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
"I feel a little down, because I'm not supporting my teammates offensively. I'm not carrying the load that I believe I can every single day."
Arozarena is slashing just .139/.220/.455 with three home runs and nine RBIs in 31 games. He's among the league's worst players in fWAR (minus-0.6) and wRC+ (39), and his Baseball Savant page is riddled with poor statistics across the board.
The one-time All-Star and 2020 ALCS MVP knows he can do better and believes he'll figure things out if he remains positive.
"I'm going to keep working; I'm positive, in a good mindset," he said. "And hopefully everything goes back to what last year was and (I) keep playing the baseball I know how to play."
The Rays enter Friday's series against the New York Mets last in the AL East with a 14-18 record.