SEATTLE (AP) — The Big Dumper is back with the Seattle Mariners, and they’re ready for him to make a big difference.
Star catcher Cal Raleigh, runner-up in AL MVP voting last season after hitting 60 home runs, was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Tuesday. He was in the lineup and behind the plate as the Mariners returned home for their series opener against the Baltimore Orioles.
Raleigh had been out since May 14 with a right oblique strain,
the first IL stint of his career. Seattle went 15-13 without him and was still leading the AL West, but the team finished 4-6 recently on a 10-game trip through Detroit, Baltimore and Washington.
“I’m just really just excited to get back,” said Raleigh who hit .412 (7 for 17) with five home runs and 12 RBIs in a five-game rehab assignment with Class A Everett and Triple-A Tacoma.
“I missed it a lot, and it was a fun week getting back out there. I’m really excited just to get back to it, be with the guys, and get back in the thick of it.”
Raleigh’s numbers prior to the injury were nowhere near what he became accustomed to during his historic 2025 campaign, when he established single-season records for homers by a catcher, a switch-hitter and a Mariners player. He entered Tuesday’s game with a .161 batting average, seven homers and 18 RBIs.
He said Tuesday he feels as though renewed health and the rehab assignment should benefit him.
“I thought I had some good practice, good timing, good game results and a good process,” Raleigh said. “So I’m taking all that as a positive and kind of rolling it into here. That’s what I wanted to do, and thought I executed it pretty well.”
Raleigh wasn’t the only reinforcement to arrive for Seattle on Tuesday. Veteran shortstop J.P. Crawford, who had been on the injured list since June 5 after being hit in the hand by a pitch at Detroit, returned to action and promptly was inserted as the team’s starting third baseman for the first time this season as the club continues to see what rookie shortstop Colt Emerson can do.
“Getting Cal back is huge,” manager Dan Wilson said. “Having him behind the plate and active and ready to go is a huge lift. And J.P. coming back as well.
“I think we’re excited to be back home and ready to play in front of the home folks.”
Seattle did have a setback, however, as outfielder Randy Arozarena was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. The move was retroactive to Saturday.
Arozarena hasn’t played since last Friday, and an MRI on Tuesday showed mild inflammation.
“We had hoped to go day-to-day with the feeling that he could be back as soon as tomorrow,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said.
“Every opinion from our medical people on how Randy was testing out indicated that he was very likely trending in the right direction and was a real possibility to be available tomorrow. The MRI cast a little doubt on that.”
The Mariners already have Luke Raley and Josh Naylor experiencing minor day-to-day health issues, so the team was risking playing with an almost empty bench on Tuesday night if it didn’t make a move.
“We don’t anticipate a stay on the IL longer than the minimum,” Hollander said of Arozarena, “but we can’t play three people short for any length of time.”
In the corresponding move, the Mariners selected the contract of outfielder Curtis Washington Jr. from Class A Everett, because that team was playing in the area.
In other roster moves, catcher Jhonny Pereda was optioned to Tacoma, and third baseman Will Wilson (broken left thumb) was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
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