Memories of Jonathan Araúz

[Edgy MD]

Second-half utility infielder from 2023 signs a deal with the Dodgers.





[FIMG=512]https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/ar_16:9,g_auto,q_auto:good,w_1024,c_fill,f_jpg/mlb/lxf3vqjqclnyu0aejwip[/FIMG] [FIMG=288]https://www.si.com/.image/ar_1:1%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cg_xy_center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_1200%2Cx_438%2Cy_115/MTk5ODIxMzI0MDc0MzYyNDk2/jonathan-arauz.png[/FIMG]

[MFS62]

He had some power as a middle infielder at AAA and wanted him to get a chance with the Mets.

He did show power - 3 dingers, but little else(.136 BA)



Later

[Edgy MD]

He had major league swagger for a guy as unproductive as he was. Swung for the fences and probably should have had a more defensive approach, considering he went a long time between hits. Excellent glove game. Distinctive facial hair and dreads.



A hot-button of birthplace controversy, with some sources claiming he comes from Nicaragua, while others tag him as Panamanian.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Wow, the Dodgers are getting everybody!

[G-Fafif]

I committed to typing the accented “ú” in his last name on FAFIF, the first Met I can recall covering with that typographical feature in 19 years of blogging.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

His style was way out of proportion to his production. Opposite of boring old Rafael Ortega, who at least didn't embarrass himself.

[ashie62]

Great hair braids



He got some service time

[Frayed Knot]

He had a lot of vowels.

[Cowtipper]

Here's my memory from his webpage on UltimateMets:



"My favorite memory of Arauz is listening to the announcers try and pronounce his last name. My most enduring memories will most likely be his crazy hair and also the first home run he hit with New York. It came out of nowhere and was one of the unlikeliest of 2023, if I'm being honest. Not just because he was hitting something like .100 at the time, but also because he's just not much of a power hitter. He had 14 home runs on the farm this year, but his career slugging percentage in the minors is just .365 and it is .308 in the majors.



I just looked up his game logs and, lost in the shuffle (or, at least, in my memory) is that he hit a home run the game AFTER that first home run, too.



Three of hits eight hits this year were home runs, so though he hit just .136 for the Mets, at least he made his hits count."

[Fman99]

I have a coworker who moonlights in the media booth here in Syracuse, so sometimes during AAA Mets games I can go upstairs to the broadcasters' room and be a fly on the wall behind the official scorer, scoreboard administrators, and the PA announcer Nick.



He had a particularly smooth way of announcing this batter's plate appearances, stressing the "u" sound in Arauz in a culturally accurate yet still emphatic fashion. "Now batting, the second basement, Jonathan Ah-Rah-UUUZZZZ."

[metsmarathon]

my kids all liked arauz far better than they should, specifically because of how delightful his name is.

[Edgy MD]

It's hinted above that his is the first accented u in team history — or at least the blogging era — but Asdrúbal Cabrera is all, "Not so fast!"