The Seattle Mariners lost 2-1 against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday and then 3-2 on Saturday.
Now, ahead of Sunday’s series finale, Mariners manager Dan Wilson made a few notable changes to his starting lineup, one of which includes catcher Cal Raleigh.
Mariners Announce Raleigh Change
Raleigh has certainly not had the season that anybody envisioned after what he did last year, and it’s caused him to sink in the lineup a bit.
He was batting in the eighth hole over the first two games of the series, and Wilson has bumped him up a spot to seventh on Sunday while deciding to keep him at catcher for the third straight game.
Raleigh will bat in front of Weston Wilson and Colt Emerson, who will handle the eighth and ninth spots.
Mariners 8/9
T. Ward RF
C. Young 2B
R. Arozarena LF
D. Canzone DH
J. Rodríguez CF
J. Naylor 1B
C. Raleigh C
W. Wilson 3B
C. Emerson SSE. Hancock SP
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) August 9, 2026
Raleigh’s 2026 Season
As mentioned, the 2026 season has been disastrous for Raleigh, just a year removed from hitting a league-leading 60 home runs and 125 RBIs, which led him to finish second in the American League MVP voting behind New York Yankees star Aaron Judge.
This season, however, across 84 games and 306 at-bats, Raleigh is batting just .163 with 26 runs, 50 hits, 12 home runs and 43 RBIs while slugging .307 and maintaining an OPS of .578.
Mariners Right Now
Seattle is entering Sunday 56-62 overall, and with exactly 44 games remaining, they somehow remain in the thick of it all in a wide-open AL.
They’re 4.0 games back of the division lead in the AL West and just 3.5 games out of a Wild Card spot.
After Sunday’s finale against Tampa Bay, they’ll get the day off on Monday and return to action Tuesday when they travel to the Bronx for a series against the New York Yankees.
Seattle Mariners Announce Cal Raleigh Change During Rays Series