MILWAUKEE — Jonathan Aranda, a 17-year-old shortstop the Tampa Bay Rays discovered only because another prospect never showed up for a workout in Tijuana, Mexico, is now the longest-tenured player in the organization and a central figure in the franchise’s first World Series appearance.
Aranda signed with Tampa Bay on July 2, 2015, for $130,000 — a modest investment that followed an accidental detour by international scouting director Carlos Rodriguez, who had traveled to Tijuana to evaluate Cuban outfielder Randy Arozarena. When Arozarena failed to appear, Rodriguez asked to see younger players at the Toros’ academy. The Rays were intrigued enough by Aranda to make an offer on the spot.
“It’s a great thing. It’s not easy to be a Major Leaguer and be with an organization for an extremely long time. It’s something I take a lot of pride in,” Aranda said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “Hopefully we can accomplish those here soon and achieve the goals that we want to achieve here in October.”
Aranda started 148 games during the regular season, trailing only Junior Caminero (162) and Yandy Díaz (154) among everyday starters. He batted .274 with a .792 OPS, slotting between Díaz and Caminero in a lineup that carried the AL champion Rays to Milwaukee. His path there, however, was anything but direct.
He bounced around the infield for roughly a decade, played for eight teams in the Rays’ system — including levels that no longer exist — and spent parts of three seasons at Triple-A Durham waiting for a sustained big-league opportunity. After the pandemic wiped out the 2020 Minor League season, the Rays floated the idea of converting him to catcher. He never started a game behind the plate. At High-A in 2019, he batted .272 with a .383 slugging percentage, a figure that led some inside the organization to doubt he would ever reach Double-A.
The turnaround came in 2021 at Double-A Montgomery, where Aranda slashed .330/.418/.543 with 14 home runs and 22 doubles in 102 games. He followed that by tearing up Triple-A pitching at a .315 average with a .959 OPS over parts of three seasons from 2022-24. Injuries derailed his first two chances to claim the first-base job in the Majors, but he stayed healthy this year and made the 2025 All-Star Game in Atlanta before the Rays rode him into October.
“Player development success story and scouting success story — both of those,” said Jeff McLerran, the Rays’ senior director of baseball development, who helped oversee Aranda’s time in the minor leagues. “Just kind of the belief all along from the scouts that saw him who were like, ‘This guy will hit. I promise you, this guy will hit.’ "
McLerran credited Aranda’s persistence and the organization’s willingness to keep clearing a path for him. “Just to see him continue to stick with it, to see the coaching staff have confidence in him to give him an opportunity, I think, was a big deal,” McLerran said. “It’s really cool — really cool — to see his journey and to see him just keep getting better.”
The Rays and their opponent will continue the World Series in Milwaukee, with Tampa Bay chasing the first championship in franchise history.