Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh speaks with reporters in the dugout at T-Mobile Park on June 16, 2026. Raleigh was activated from the injured list after missing 29 games with a right oblique strain. (Curtis Crabtree / FOX 13 Seattle)
SEATTLE - The Seattle Mariners activated catcher Cal Raleigh and infielder J.P. Crawford from the injured list ahead of a three-game series with the Baltimore Orioles.
Raleigh missed 29 games on the injured list due to a right oblique strain, while Crawford missed the last nine games with a right hand contusion after being hit by a pitch from Framber Valdez in Detroit. Crawford will make his first start for the team at third base with Raleigh back at catcher.
What they're saying:
"I'm really just excited to get back, you know," Raleigh said. "Missed it a lot, and it was a fun week, getting to get back out there and do it again up in Everett and Tacoma. It was a fun week. Just really excited to just get back to it, be with the guys, and get back in the thick of it."
It was the first trip to the injured list in Raleigh's career. He first sustained the injury in early May, then had it flare up again during a roadtrip in Houston that led to the decision to shut him down to get healthy. Raleigh appeared in five rehab games with Single-A Everett and Triple-A Tacoma, batting .412 with five home runs and 12 RBI.
"I feel good. I was able to, you know, kind of catch my timing pretty quickly, better than I thought it would. Obviously, that's not here, but I took it as a positive. I thought, you know, I had some good, practice, was good timing, some good game results, good process, so kind of taking all that as a positive and kind of rolling it into here is kind of what I wanted to do, and thought I executed it pretty well."
Raleigh had a very slow start to the season offensively for the Mariners before the injury. A disrupted spring training from participating in the World Baseball Classic was followed by a sluggish beginning to the year. While Raleigh did seem to be heating up a bit before the injury, he is batting just .161 with four doubles, seven home runs and 18 RBI on the season with 18 walks and 57 strikeouts.
"I think ultimately my body felt good, I got the confidence back with that, and I wasn't feeling it a whole lot," Raleigh said. "It was really good as far as that goes. And then as far as the results and stuff (goes), those are great. It doesn't always translate, doesn't always make it, you know, it's not going to be that easy all the time, but you know, felt good, and kind of just took that and ran with it, and you know, got the amount of reps that I thought I needed."
General manager Justin Hollander said that there will be some load management plans for Raleigh in the short-term as he rejoins the roster.
"He's likely to play the next two, today and tomorrow, and then we'll see where he's at," Hollander said. "Probably more off days built in than just catch, catch, DH. (That) has been sort of Cal's routine over the last couple years, particularly last year, and at least for the first week or 10 days, we may build in an off day or two in there for him."
Meanwhile, Crawford's return to the lineup will come at a new position at third base.
At least for one game.
Crawford told the team last month that he's open to a move to third base, which comes as a response to top prospect Colt Emerson – a standout shortstop – joining the club.
"He'll have a little bit of a good look at third base, he's been taking a lot of ground balls there, and I think feels like he's in a good spot to make the adjustment to third base at least tonight and see how it goes. And look forward to seeing him down there," manager Dan Wilson said.
Crawford approached the team to let them know he was open to the idea. He's been working at the position in pregame over the last month and will get his first chance to play at third as he rejoins the lineup.
"I want to be a Mariner for life and I think that's the best way to do it," Crawford said in May "And just always being open to helping the team win.
"We had a good conversation and seen a lot more positive thoughts about it. So, why not give it a try?"
Crawford is batting .228 with five doubles, 10 home runs and 23 RBI while ranking second on the team in on-base percentage at .356, thanks largely to his team-high 34 walks.
J.P. Crawford open to playing third base for Seattle Mariners
J.P. Crawford has told the Seattle Mariners he's open to a move to third base and took grounders at the position ahead of Wednesday's series finale with the Chicago White Sox.
Catcher Jhonny Pereda was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on Tuesday, and infielder Patrick Wisdom was sent down on Monday to open the roster spots needed for the return of Raleigh and Crawford to the roster.
Hollander was effusive in his praise for the way Pereda played during Raleigh's absence, but he had to go down due to having available options.
"He did a fantastic job on all sides of the ball, the way he worked defensively, both in game calling and working with the pitchers, the energy that he brought every single day, the quality of his at-bat was unbelievable. He was fantastic. He'll be back," Hollander said. "I think he's a real part of what we're doing here. It's a tough conversation to have to let him know that he was the guy that's going down. I think he was prepared for it and understands, but he made a fantastic impression."
Randy Arozarena placed on injured list
When reporters met with Hollander just before 3 p.m., Randy Arozarena was expected to be available off the bench tonight and back in the lineup on Wednesday.
Instead, he's being placed on the injured list and a 26-year-old Single-A outfielder in Curtis Washington is getting called up to give the Mariners an emergency spare player tonight against the Orioles.
"While (Arozarena) was getting his MRI, Luke (Raley)'s back tightened up," Hollander told reporters in the press box Tuesday evening. "Randy's MRI did show some mild inflammation still existing. We had hoped to go day to day with the feeling that he could be back as soon as tomorrow. The MRI led to some doubt that that was overly optimistic.
"I've never really seen anything like this, and obviously playing with just one man on the bench night is just too much to ask, not with the likelihood of Randy being active tomorrow being significantly less based on what we saw in the MRI."
Washington is batting just .190 with Everett this season with eight doubles, seven home runs and 22 RBI, with 17 walks and 47 strikeouts. It's not unreasonable to think this could be Washington's only major league game of his career, but he'll get the chance to help the Mariners in a pinch.
"Really like one of the best people that we have in the org, someone who does it the right way, and he hasn't stepped in the door. So really cool for him. I hope he gets in there tonight for the right reasons, so he'll be here any minute," Hollander said.
Additional injury updates
Right-handed relievers Matt Brash, Cooper Criswell, and Carlos Vargas likely won't be back on the roster until around the trade deadline in early August.
Brash (Grade 1 lat strain), and Criswell (Grade 1+ pectoral strain) both went on the injured list last week, while Vargas (right lat strain) has been out since the start of the season.
"Unfortunate to lose both guys, obviously on the same day," Hollander said.
Brash's injury isn't the same as the one that previously landed him on the injured list in May.
"The first IL stint was sort of lower on his right side, more muscle related," Hollander said. "This one's a little higher up and is a different type of strain. More showed up on the MRI this time, which is why the longer downtime."
Both Brash and Criswell will have MRIs in 3-4 weeks to assess their progress and are expected to need a similar amount of time to build back up, assuming all goes well.
Vargas has started a throwing program but is on a similar timeline to Brash and Criswell.
– Brendan Donovan is back in Seattle with the team and is set to begin a running program as he works his way back from a left groin strain. The injury is related to offseason sports hernia surgery that has continued to be a problem.
"That'll start this week with just straight line linear running, and then move into base running and things next week," Hollander said.
That process will take 10-14 days before he's potentially ready for a rehab assignment.
"I think load management is going to be a real part of this," Hollander said. "It's maybe something that's not quite a strong suit. He's backing off in pregame and not wanting to take a thousand ground balls with Bone (infield coach Perry Hill) at different spots, and now we're adding in the layer of fly balls in the outfield too.
"He seemed comfortable with where he's at right now and in good spirits. And I think he knows that we've taken enough time to do this that when he comes off, he'll be hopefully good to go for the rest of the year."
– Josh Naylor (shin/wrist) is considered day-to-day, but will be available off the bench tonight, if needed.
Naylor has been dealing with two issues – a shin issue and a wrist injury. The shin isn't a problem, but the wrist is still bothering him a little bit.
– Andrés Muñoz came out of his last appearance in Washington early with lower back tightness, but is thought to be fine.
"He's fine. Came in yesterday, he was good, so he's available," Hollander said.
– Infielder Will Wilson has been on a rehab assignment with a left thumb fracture, but is getting pulled back. He is being assessed over the next couple days to determine whether he can continue to try and work forward, or if surgery will be necessary, which would end his season.
"If we don't think it's making any progress, the only other alternative is to have surgery and miss the rest of the season," Hollander said.
Wilson was moved to the 60-day injured list to free up a 40-man roster spot for Washington's promotion.
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 13 Seattle reporting.
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