Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh is Even Catching the Attention of His Former Teammates

NEW YORK - Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has been so good this year that he's catching the attention of his former teammates.

Jose Caballero, who played with Raleigh in the Mariners' minor league system and again when he broke into the big leagues in 2023, was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays before the 2024 season, but he's certainly aware of what Raleigh is doing this season.

A probable All-Star, Raleigh has 26 home runs, which is tied with Aaron Judge for the major league-lead.

Caballero spoke with Mariners on SI before a game on Friday against the New York Mets at Citi Field.

It's ​amazing, ​man. ​He's ​one ​of ​a ​kind. ​One ​catcher ​like ​that? It's ​really ​hard ​to ​find. ​And ​I ​don't ​think there's going to ​be ​many ​after ​him, ​but, ​​he's ​a ​guy ​that ​puts ​up ​the ​work,​and ​I ​know ​him ​and ​he ​deserves ​everything ​that ​is ​happening ​to ​him ​and ​hopefully ​he ​doesn't ​hit ​any ​against ​us.

In addition to his 26 home runs, Raleigh has 53 RBIs and a .262 average.

As for Caballero, he was an integral part of the 2023 Mariners that missed the playoffs by just one game. He hit .221 and had 26 steals. The Mariners traded him to the Rays before the 2024 season, and he proceeded to lead the American League in stolen bases with 44. He leads baseball in steals thus far this season with 25.

The Mariners and Rays will play each other on Aug. 8-10 in Seattle and Sept. 1-3 in Tampa Bay.

For the full interview with Caballero, you can subscribe to the Refuse to Lose podcast, which will come out on Tuesday.