Mariners suffer a massive blow as Cal Raleigh is sent to the IL

Already beset by injuries to key personnel, the Seattle Mariners now also lose their clubhouse leader and last year’s AL MVP runner up.

The Mariners have already dealt with an almost ridiculous amount of injuries to important players this season including Bryce Miller, Brendan Donovan, Matt Brash, Gabe Speier and Victor Robles. Now though you can add arguably the biggest name to the list, in Cal Raleigh.

As reported by Adam Jude of The Seattle Times, Raleigh is headed to the 10-day Injured List for the first time in his Major League career, with a right oblique strain. In a corresponding move, fellow catcher Jhonny Pereda has been recalled from Triple-A Tacoma.

Losing Raleigh is obviously a massive blow for the Mariners, as they continue to struggle through a subpar start to the 2026 season. However, he needs to get right after dealing with the issue for the past two weeks and then aggravating it during the eighth inning on Wednesday evening’s game versus the Astros in Houston.

A chance for Cal Raleigh to reset and come back fresh

Even though Raleigh is quite rightly admired for his toughness and durability, it was clear that trying to play through the oblique issue was not doing him or the Mariners any favors. This was highlighted by a horrific 0-for-38 hitless skid which only ended a night earlier, as he looked dangerously close to surpassing Jarred Kelenic’s franchise record 0-for-42 streak which was set in 2021.

This has been a rough season in general so far for Raleigh, following on from arguably the best ever season by a catcher in Major League history highlighted by hitting 60 home runs. While he seems back to his best behind the plate he overall has a -0.1 bWAR, with a number of concerning figures projected to be career-lows including a .161 batting average, 87.5 mph average exit velocity and 31.1 hard-hit rate.

The hope for the Mariners will of course be that Raleigh can now use this stint on the IL to get healthy and then come back fresh and better than ever. And as much as the club would prefer him to be in the lineup, it doesn’t really help if he’s not producing, as manger Dan Wilson said:

“Nobody wants to go on the IL, and especially not Cal. But I think at this point it’s the smart thing to do.”

Mariners have no timeline yet for Cal Raleigh’s return

Raleigh is scheduled to have medical imaging on Friday after the club returns to Seattle, with no timeline at this stage for when he will return. In the immediate aftermath Mitch Garver is starting in Thursday’s series finale versus the Astros and will be backed up by Pereda, who went 2-for-5 with a run scored in two games earlier this season for the Mariners.

In what can be considered more positive news for the Mariners, José A. Ferrer has been reinstated from the Paternity List and Josh Simpson has been optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. Ferrer has impressed in the bullpen so far this season, with a 1.80 ERA, 2.41 FIP and 3.3 percent walk-rate all contributing towards a 0.6 bWAR which is already above his career-high set in 2024.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

• Mariners former top-rated prospect starts over with AL West rival
• FIFA World Cup 2026: Iconic Players and Newcomers Revealed
• Mariners rolling but still cannot escape ongoing injury curse
• Mariners Extend Streak with Robles’ Walk-Off Hit
• Cal Raleigh’s Road to Recovery: Mariners Catcher Updates