Cal Raleigh Scratched From Mariners Lineup Ahead of May 2nd Matchup Against Royals
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - A little over an hour before first pitch between the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners in game two of their three-game weekend series, Mariners star catcher Cal Raleigh was scratched from the lineup. No reason was given by the Mariners at the time of the scratch, and the question of what happened to Raleigh may not be answered until after the ballgame, when the media can speak with manager Dan Wilson.
Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh during the team's loss to the Kansas City Royals in the series opener on Friday, May 1st, 2026, at T-Mobile Park. (Photos by Bryant Garduque for Circling Seattle Sports)
Mitch Garver, who was originally slated to be on the bench for the first lineup that the team put out today, replaces Cal and bats eighth. The announcement of Raleigh’s removal puts a bit of a damper on the evening, as Randy Johnson’s Number Retirement Ceremony will take place prior to the ballgame. When Raleigh was seen in the Mariners clubhouse pregame, there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary about his appearance, so it’s a bit of a mystery as to what is going on with Cal.
Seemingly related, the Mariners announced a roster move shortly after that, recalling catcher Jhonny Pereda from AAA Tacoma. Pereda, 30-years-old, will wear the number five with the Mariners and is the only other catcher on the franchise’s 40-man roster besides Raleigh and Garver.
Seattle Mariners catcher Jhonny Pereda during the team’s March 14th, 2026 Spring Training game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. (Photos by Eric Hiller for Circling Seattle Sports)
The other part of the roster move to recall Pereda is that infielder Will Wilson is placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 30th, with a fractured left thumb. Wilson was also visible pregame, chatting with Patrick Wisdom (also on the 10-day injured list) and saying he likes the bat Wisdom is using. Wilson was seen wearing some athletic tape around his left hand, but nothing seemed to indicate that his left thumb was fractured.
Peereda has performed well at the AAA level to this point, appearing in 23 games with the Rainiers while batting .333 with 15 runs, 2 doubles, 2 home runs, and 8 RBI. He has a .418 on-base percentage, slugging .436 for an .853 OPS. A fun fact about Pereda is that he’s pitched in four MLB games across his career, recording 3 strikeouts, including striking out 4-time MVP Shohei Ohtani.
Once more information comes to light regarding Cal Raleigh and his status, we’ll publish a new piece as an update.
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