Mariners Outfielder Luke Raley Possibly Done for Remainder of 2026 Season
By Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - In the hours following the 2026 MLB trade deadline, some bits of news came out regarding different roster moves that the Seattle Mariners may make, as general manager Justin Hollander spoke with “Seattle Sports” 710 AM on a radio interview. Acquiring Taylor Ward in the lone deal made by the Mariners on deadline day and Nolan Jones being part of the Luis Castillo trade two days before make even more sense after it was revealed that hustling outfielder Luke Raley will likely be out for the remainder of the 2026 season.
It’s another difficult injury hit for the Mariners, who have dealt with a bevy of ailments throughout the roster through the majority of 2026 with heavy expectations.
Seattle Mariners outfielder Luke Raley throughout the 2026 season at T-Mobile Park. (Photos by Bryant Garduque for Circling Seattle Sports)
One of the bigger pieces of news for the Mariners coming out of the deadline is that Luke Raley may be done for the season. Seattle general manager Justin Hollander was on “Seattle Sports” 710-AM after the deadline and shared that the outfielder is “probably” going to miss the rest of the 2026 campaign with a left forearm strain. Luke had been placed on the 10-day injured list back on Saturday, after being absent from the lineup on Friday despite the Twins putting a right-hander on the mound.
At the time, manager Dan Wilson said that Raley had some “elbow soreness.” Luke has been dealing with a strained flexor tendon in his left forearm, which has caused him elbow pain at times throughout the season. After missing three games with this issue back in early July, Raley has attempted to play through the pain while wearing a tight compression sleeve. On Saturday afternoon, when Wilson spoke to the media pregame, he stated that Raley felt he wasn’t helping the team because of the way the injury was affecting him and that it “certainly is going to take a little bit of time.”
Additionally, he added that there was no specific instance that caused the injury to worsen, and that it’s been a “wear and tear thing over time,” something that Raley has been dealing with for “several years.” That last bit isn’t a great sign, and it seems likely that Luke will require surgery to deal with this.
Raley had a strong start to the year with the Mariners, batting .290 with an OPS of .932 and a team-leading 13 home runs by the end of May. It seemed like Luke might be back to the form he displayed in 2024 with the Mariners, his first year in Seattle, when he hit a career-high 22 home runs and drove in 58 runs. He hasn’t been able to keep up the hot start, though, posting a .152 batting average with a .441 OPS and just two home runs in his 41 games since June 1st.
There was some uncertainty about where Ward would slot in the Mariners lineup, given that he’s primarily played left field in his career. He has played right field before in his career, but hasn’t done so since 2022 with the Los Angeles Angels, when he registered 125 games at the position.
It would make sense to give Arozarena some designated hitter days, allowing Ward to play in left while Dominic Canzone handles things in right field.
To circle back on Raley, it’ll be interesting to see how long this injury ends up taking him out of action. Luke isn’t a free agent until 2029, under club control for the next two years.
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