Going into the season, many were excited to see what Cal Raleigh had for an encore. He was coming off arguably the best statistical season a catcher has ever had. In 159 games, he slashed .247/.359/.589 with 60 home runs, 125 RBIs, and a 168 OPS+. But this season has not gone the way anyone expected. Raleigh has struggled at the plate, slashing .161/.243/.217 with seven home runs, 18 RBIs, and an OPS+ of 62. He even had a 0-38 streak at one point.
Things hit a new low on Wednesday, May 14th. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Raleigh had to exit the game after reaggravating a right side injury that kept him out of a few games early in the season. After some testing, it was revealed that Raleigh had suffered a right olique strain and would be heading to the injured list for the first time in his career. While he has struggled this season, this is a major blow for the Seattle Mariners. But how long will Raleigh be out for, and can the Mariners survive without him?
Can the Mariners Survive Without Cal Raleigh?
At this time, there is no official timeline for when we can expect Raleigh to be back. He will need further testing to determine the severity of the strain. The best-case scenario is that he has a Grade 1 strain. That will keep him out at least three to four weeks. Potentially more with the physical demands of a catcher. Worst case, it’s a Grade 3 strain that will pretty much end his season. So the Mariners are going to have to deal with the fact that Raleigh will be out for the foreseeable future.
This is the last thing that the Mariners need right now. Currently, they are 21-23 and in third place in the AL West. They are two games back of the Athletics for first place and a half game out of the last wild card spot. So while they have struggled, they still have a very good shot at the postseason. With the rest of the American League also not playing great baseball, they need one hot streak to put them back into contention. This is something that can be done, even with Raleigh on the shelf.
The saving grace for the Mariners is that their strength is pitching. They have allowed 172 runs this season, the eighth fewest in baseball. George Kirby has been the ace of the pitching staff so far this season. In 57 innings, he has a 2.84 ERA with 46 strikeouts to 14 walks, a 1.16 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 138. Their bullpen has also been very efficient. They have a combined ERA of 3.15 and a WHIP of 1.33. They have had no problems keeping opponents off the scoreboard, and they have to keep doing it if they want to make a run.
But if they want to try to make another deep playoff run, they are going to need to find another bat. While guys like Luke Raley, Randy Arozarena, and Julio RodrÃguez have all played well, but they need one more guy they can rely on. They need someone like Brendon Donovan or JP Crawford to get out of their early-season struggles and play closer to the player they are expected to be. This will lengthen out the lineup and help make up for some of the production they are missing with Raleigh hurt.
While the Raleigh injury is a major blow for the Mariners, it is not the end of the season. If the pitching holds and they can find someone to improve the offense, they still have a shot at making the postseason.
