This is probably a career-first Cal Raleigh was hoping to avoid.
The Mariners’ All-Star catcher was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain on Thursday, marking his maiden trip to the IL.
The “Big Dumper” exited Wednesday’s night’s walk-off loss to the Astros in the ninth inning after aggravating discomfort he’d experienced earlier in the month and caused him to miss three games.
The injury seemingly resurfaced as he backed up a relay throw in the eighth inning and became more apparent when he held off throwing to first on a would-be double play.
“Nobody wants to go on the IL, and especially not Cal,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson told reporters before Thursday’s game. “But I think at this point, I think it’s the smart thing to do and a chance for him to get that resolved and then be ready to go. We’ve got still a long way to go, and I think this is really wise (to) get him 100% before he gets back.”
The injury is the latest low point in a season that’s yet to get on track for the 2025 AL MVP runner-up.
In 41 games, he’s slashing just .161/.243/.560 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs — a far cry from the pace of his AL-best 60 dingers and 125 RBIs he smashed last season.
Raleigh broke out of an 0-for-38 on Tuesday night with a single in a win over the Astros.
Seattle called up Jhonny Pereda from Triple-A Tacoma to help Mitch Garver shoulder the load behind the plate — something Garver seemed to know was coming after taking over for Raleigh in extra innings on Wednesday.
“I saw the discomfort and I knew that he wasn’t going to be able to hit,” Garver said of Raleigh. “But it made it difficult, because they had the lefty in there in the ninth. So it was like — and I’m not going to speak for Dan — but like, “Do I hit? Or do you save me for Cal’s spot?’
“It was a tough decision to make. We had pretty much just exhausted our whole bench, and then we tied the game. And it’s like, [darn]. Now what do we do?”
That’s been the question so far this season for the Mariners, who finished an AL West-best 90-72 last season en route to a run to the ALCS.
Entering Thursday’s slate, they’re third in the division at 21-23, and now they’ll have to navigate the new few weeks without their biggest star.