Seattle Mariners Announce Brutal Cal Raleigh Decision

The Seattle Mariners will look to snap a recent skid when they open a weekend series against the Chicago Cubs on Friday night at T-Mobile Park.

After dropping two of three games to the Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle sits at 60-68 and well short of the contention many expected when the season began.

Manager Dan Wilson has responded with a handful of lineup adjustments, the most notable of which returns catcher Cal Raleigh to the starting nine.

Raleigh sat out Thursday’s series finale in Milwaukee, but he is back behind the plate and will bat seventh against the Cubs.

Wilson’s group also features Brendon Donovan at third base, Randy Arozarena in left field, Dominic Canzone in right, Julio Rodríguez in center, Josh Naylor at first, Taylor Ward as the designated hitter, Cole Young at second and Ben Rodden at shortstop.

Emerson Hancock draws the starting assignment on the mound.

The move comes during a season that has been a sharp departure from Raleigh’s 2025 breakout. Last year the catcher led the majors with 60 home runs and 125 RBIs, finishing second in American League MVP voting behind Aaron Judge.

Those numbers made him one of the most productive hitters in baseball and a central figure in Seattle’s lineup.

This year the production has evaporated. In 94 games and 334 at-bats, Raleigh is hitting .156 with a .296 slugging percentage. He has just 52 hits, 27 runs, 13 home runs and 44 RBIs.

The drop from last season’s .247 average and .589 slugging mark is among the more dramatic declines in the league. Even so, Wilson has continued to give him regular work except for planned rest days, valuing his presence behind the plate even when the bat has gone quiet.

The fact that Raleigh is now a No. 7 hitter after the year he had last season is incomprehensible.

Seattle’s overall struggles have compounded the issue. A club that entered the year viewed as a potential American League force now finds itself well below .500 and searching for any spark.

Inserting Raleigh back into the lineup, even in the seventh spot, represents one attempt to generate that spark against a Cubs team that arrives in the Pacific Northwest for three games.

How much Raleigh can contribute remains an open question. His defensive work has not disappeared, but the offensive numbers suggest the power and contact that defined 2025 have not returned.

For a Mariners team trying to salvage something from a disappointing campaign, Friday’s game will offer an early look at whether the latest lineup tweak can produce better results than the one that closed out the series in Milwaukee.