Mariners Cal Raleigh’s Slump Reaches New Low

It is hard to fathom what is going on with Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh this season.

After Raleigh's historic season last season, which saw him slug a major-league lead 60 home runs with 125 RBI and finish second in the AL MVP voting behind Aaron Judge, 2026 has not been kind to the "Big Dumper."

Despite the Mariners' 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Monday, Raleigh went 0-for-4 at the dish and is now in the midst of a career-worst 0-for-36 slump (the longest active streak in baseball). And although Raleigh has posted a lifetime .221 batting average, his struggles this year have been concerning following the historic season he had in 2025.

The 29-year-old is now batting a woeful .157 on the season with just seven home runs, 18 RBI and a .558 OPS in 38 games.

"It's been really ugly," Raleigh said to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times over the weekend.

What has gone wrong with Cal Raleigh?

While nobody expected Raleigh to replicate the success he had last season, Seattle was certainly relying on their All-Star catcher to be a prolific hitter in their lineup. The Mariners are already missing a big bat on offense after they opted to not bring back Eugenio Suarez. Suarez of course was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks last season at the MLB trade deadline and also played a pivotal role in the Mariners deep playoff run.

Raleigh's historic 2025 campaign included 188 strikeouts and just a .247 batting average. Still, he has not been known as a contact hitter since entering the league in 2021.

The good news is that the AL West division is wide open with the Athletics being the only ballclub with a winning record at 21-19. Seattle, though, is right there behind the A's, trailing by just two games at 20-22.

If the Mariners want to repeat as AL West champions, they need their All-Star catcher to get going at the plate. Raleigh will look to snap out of his prolonged slump when the Mariners continue their series against the Astros tonight at Daiken Park.