WEST SACRAMENTO -- If Cal Raleigh has been getting stir crazy while rehabbing in Arizona, he at least was slated to take part in his first baseball activity Monday.
The Mariners’ star catcher reportedly played light catch at the club’s Spring Training facility on Memorial Day, representing his first action since being placed on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain on May 14.
“That's a good sign,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said before Seattle’s three-game series opener against the Athletics. “But again, you just really have to be careful with the obliques, as we've talked about, and take it slow.
“But I know he's put a lot of work in prior to this, with the rotation [movement] and building the strength and getting it back. And so I think in terms of a progression, I think he's on pace with where we've hoped. We'll just continue to see it as we go.”
As far as Wilson was aware, Raleigh has not gone through any catching drills or swung a bat. And Raleigh will remain in Arizona for the time being, though as he nears a Minor League rehab assignment, he would likely rejoin the club for a closer consultation with the club’s Major League athletic training staff.
But that doesn’t appear to be on the immediate horizon.
“I think just kind of assess where he can get the best attention and the best work,” Wilson said, “and kind of make our decision from there. But I think right now, he's in a good spot down there with the personnel that we have down there, and where he’s at in his rehab progression.”
This is Raleigh’s first career stint on the IL, and the Mariners have badly missed him.
They’re 4-6 while he’s been sidelined, though backups Mitch Garver and Jhonny Pereda have filled in formidably -- with a combined .790 OPS that ranks fifth best among catchers during this stretch. Pereda hit a critical homer in last Wednesday’s win over the White Sox, and Garver hit a decisive two-run blast Friday in Kansas City.
As for Raleigh’s timeline, the Mariners won’t rush it -- especially given that he aggravated the area two weeks after the issue first surfaced. That came shortly after he began a career-worst 0-for-38 stretch that he snapped the day before re-hurting himself.
“That's always the biggest thing,” Wilson said, “and I think as you get closer, it gets even harder to be patient. But I think he is such a competitor, and I know watching the game when he does, it's got to be hard for him.”
His recovery once on the IL was always going to be a matter of multiple weeks.
“But I'm happy to hear the way things are going with him,” Wilson said. “And I think he's getting to a good spot.”
Speier rejoins club
Lefty leverage reliever Gabe Speier arrived at Sutter Health Park before Monday’s game but was not immediately activated from the 15-day IL.
However, that could come “soon,” per Wilson.
Speier pitched in two Minor League rehab games, most recently Saturday with Triple-A Tacoma, when he threw a scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts. That came after a first-inning outing at High-A Everett last Thursday, when he gave up two homers with two strikeouts.
The club wanted to assess how he bounced back before activating him, but it could certainly use him this week against the first-place A’s, who have a bevy of left-handed sluggers.