SEATTLE -- Cal Raleigh is back, and a stint on the injured list for the American League MVP runner-up no longer appears to be in play.
The all-world catcher returned to the Mariners’ starting lineup as the designated hitter in Seattle's 3-2 loss to Atlanta on Tuesday night. He went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
Raleigh missed each of the Mariners’ past three games after experiencing right side soreness that first surfaced during Friday’s loss to the Royals, which prompted the club to have him undergo an MRI one day later. Raleigh then went through light baseball activity on Sunday, including swings in the batting cage, then a more robust pregame routine on Monday.
“With side injuries, you have to be really, really careful,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “And we really feel like the paces that we've kind of put him through. The training room does such a great job ... helping him test it in any way possible. And he's really not feeling it. And so a chance to get him back out there today.”
The next step would be for Raleigh to get back behind the plate. Ostensibly, the Mariners could hold out on that until Friday, given that Wednesday’s series finale is a day game then they’re off on Thursday.
“We're looking at it pretty much at-bat to at-bat at this point,” Wilson said. “And we'll just kind of continue to watch it and we'll make decisions as we feel like as the assessments come in.”
It also sounds like the switch-hitting Raleigh won’t have limitations from swinging from either side of the plate, like Jorge Polanco did last year when he was forced to go lefty-only while playing through a minor oblique strain.
“I don't think there's any restrictions at this point,” Wilson said. “Again, he's been through it -- a lot of the testing, the physical testing that they've done, and he's passed it all.”
Raleigh and Wilson downplayed the issue’s severity but still wanted to see how the area responded to treatment and workouts.
“I could go out there and play,” Raleigh said on Sunday. “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.”
In Raleigh’s stead, backup catcher Mitch Garver started two games and newcomer Jhonny Pereda got the nod on Sunday, a day game after a night game. He also made a solid impression with his defense, including a caught-stealing against speedster Isaac Collins. Garver started again on Tuesday, marking the first time he's started back-to-back games behind the plate since coming to Seattle in '24.
The Mariners are now carrying each of their three catchers on the 40-man roster. If Raleigh can return to catching soon, Pereda would likely be optioned back to Triple-A Tacoma.
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.”
It was a promising development for a club that currently has 10 players on the IL -- though it could soon be returning third baseman Brendan Donovan, who began a two-game rehab assignment at Double-A Arkansas on Tuesday. Recovering from a left groin muscle strain, Donovan could be activated as soon as Friday’s game at the White Sox.
Donovan started at DH and punched a double down the third-base line in his second at-bat, and also drew two walks.
“It kind of brings more of that continuity back to our lineup that we had earlier in the season,” Wilson said.
Before being scratched from Saturday’s lineup, 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 him 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.