Raleigh, Mariners awaiting MRI results on catcher's right side discomfort

SEATTLE -- Cal Raleigh was still awaiting results from an MRI to decipher if there’s anything more detailed to the right side discomfort that held him out of the Mariners’ lineup for the second straight day on Sunday.

And although the American League MVP runner-up said he was “feeling a lot better” before Seattle’s series finale vs. Kansas City, a stint on the injured list is being considered.

“As of right now, it's one day at a time, see how I feel,” Raleigh said. “Like I said, we're still in the early stages. I don't know where we're at. But like I said, compared to where it was feeling postgame Friday and yesterday early, very positive, very encouraging. So that's kind of where we're at right now.”

Raleigh said that he tweaked the area at some point during Friday’s loss, but not on a specific swing or moment.

That prompted him to alert Seattle’s athletic training staff, which in turn sent him for imaging away from T-Mobile Park during Saturday’s extra-inning loss, when he was scratched roughly 90 minutes before first pitch.

“Things happen all the time,” Raleigh said. “And I kind of shrug them off. I let the training staff know and then came in the next day, and … they're just erring on the side of caution, which is probably smart in this scenario.”

The fact that he swings from both sides and plays the most demanding position is also factoring into the club’s calculus with how to handle his recovery.

“I could go out there and play,” Raleigh said. “But I think, overall, looking at it, it's May. And trust me, I want to be out there, but obviously thinking about the team and the longevity, and knowing that I'm thinking about the guys in there and trying to do that. And taking a day or two is probably best for everybody, including myself.

“So, obviously it's not what I want to be doing. But better safe than sorry in this scenario.”

In Raleigh’s stead, Mitch Garver started on Saturday and Jhonny Pereda -- who was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma shortly after Raleigh was scratched on Saturday -- started the series finale. Those two, plus Raleigh, are the Mariners’ only catchers on the club’s 40-man roster.

This is the first time that Raleigh has dealt with a side issue, he said, though recent oblique injuries to his buddies Bryce Miller (who’s been sidelined more than two months but is on a Minor League rehab assignment) and Luke Raley (who dealt with pain in the area for virtually all of 2025) have offered a reminder of how those issues can linger.

Raleigh, who’s in his sixth season, has never been on the IL before.

“You're always using your core and so you just want to be smart, right?” Raleigh said. “I mean, you don't want something that could be a day or two turn into weeks or a month.”

The Mariners are already without their leadoff hitter -- third baseman Brendan Donovan -- though the 2025 All-Star is expected to be activated on Friday in Chicago if all goes well during his two-game rehab assignment at Double-A Arkansas beginning on Tuesday.

Before being scratched, Raleigh had started in 32 of the Mariners’ first 33 games of the season -- 25 at catcher and seven at designated hitter -- the lone exception being on March 30 against the Yankees, when he came off the bench and ripped a walk-off single.

A slow start stalled Raleigh in the early weeks, but he’s begun to heat up, with five of his seven homers coming over his past 10 games. Overall, he’s slashing .186/.272/.380 (.652 OPS) with four doubles, 18 RBIs, a 29.3% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate.

Pereda had been off to a solid start for the Rainiers, slashing .333/.418/.436 (.853 OPS) with two homers and two doubles over 92 plate appearances across 23 games.