Cal Raleigh not in lineup for Seattle Mariners for first game of Yankees series

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SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 28: Cal Raleigh #29 of the Seattle Mariners at bat against the Cleveland Guardians at T-Mobile Park on March 28, 2026 in Seattle, Washington.  (Olivia Vanni / Getty Images)

SEATTLE - All-Star catcher Cal Raleigh is not in the starting lineup for the Seattle Mariners for their first game of a three-game set with the New York Yankees as manager Dan Wilson is giving him an early day off.

"It's a chance for him to get some rest, for sure," Wilson said. "Coming out of spring training, he had sort of a shorter spring training in a lot of ways and didn't want to spike his workload too much. A chance to give him a day here after playing all four against Cleveland. For now, he's going to be able to get some rest, and we'll see."

Wilson did say that it's possible Raleigh could be used as a pinch-hitter off the bench.

"We're trying to assess this as we go and make sure that we don't put him in a tough spot," Wilson said. "He's a hard guy to get out of the lineup because he wants to be in there so badly. I think it felt like today would be a good day to give him some rest."

Raleigh has had a dismal start to the season at the plate. Over Seattle's four-game series with the Guardians to open the year, Raleigh is just 2-for-15 with a double, three walks, and 10 strikeouts in 18 plate appearances. 

In fact, the heart of Seattle's lineup with Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez and Josh Naylor have all gotten off to bad offensive starts to the season. The trio is a combined 3-for-45 with nine walks and 19 strikeouts in 54 plate appearances. Naylor is yet to record a hit in four games.

"Sometimes those kinds of slower starts happen and these guys are so diligent about the work that they put in and the effort that they put forward that it doesn't seem like it's going to last long," Wilson said.

Raleigh also had a slow start to the season last year, going just 3-for-24 with seven strikeouts in Seattle's opening seven-game homestand against the Sacramento Athletics and Detroit Tigers. The opening four-game set against the A's saw Raleigh go just 1-for-12 with three walks and three strikeouts.

He still managed to deliver one of the best seasons by a catcher in MLB history after that, so it's obviously far too early to have major concerns. The strikeout numbers are the one aspect that is abnormal though. With a left-handed on the mound in Ryan Weathers for New York, Wilson can have Rob Refsnyder serve as the designated hitter and Mitch Garver catch and feel like the lineup is still well-positioned.

"I think a day off for a catcher like that is always a mental reset," Wilson said. "You're not having to partake in the grind back there, pitch-to-pitch, and then take your ABs. There's always value in just getting a complete day too, so in a lot of ways it's a mental and physical off day as we've talked about and good timing for him especially with the shorter spring training for him."

Last season, Raleigh had to serve as the designated hitter on most nights he wasn't behind the plate. But with Refsnyder leading a stronger collective bench for the Mariners this season, the flexibility appears to be there for the Mariners to get Raleigh more time off to keep him fresh.

"When we talk about the depth in our lineup, that certainly does help," Wilson said. "Being able to not have to rely on him all the time for the DH spot too is great, and so this is an opportunity that made a lot of sense today."

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