Why Ken Rosenthal believes in Mariners despite Cal Raleigh landing on IL

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Benedetto Vitale, ClutchPoints

Thu, May 14, 2026 at 5:56 PM UTC ·

2 min read

Why Ken Rosenthal believes in Mariners despite Cal Raleigh landing on IL appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

The Seattle Mariners placed Cal Raleigh on the 10-day IL with a right oblique strain on Thursday. While it’s less than ideal news, the 29-year-old catcher has had quite a dreadful season, as he just recently ended a 0-for-38 slump. Despite the cold start to the 2026 campaign for Raleigh and the Mariners, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal still believes this team can be competitive in the AL West.

While guest appearing on “Foul Territory,” Rosenthal lists several factors for why he thinks the Mariners will be just fine this season. The popular insider for The Athletic explains that the recent upgrades to the lineup, the healthy pitching group, a possibly short stint on the IL for Raleigh, and the AL West being wide open this year are all reasons for the organization to remain optimistic in mid-May and not hit the panic button.

“The addition of Brendan Donovan , and also Cole Young at second base… The addition of Jose Ferrer for the bullpen, [the Mariners] should be better,” said Rosenthal. “But as we know, the games are not played on paper… Certainly, [Raleigh on the IL] is a big blow for the Mariners.

“The good news for them is that their pitching is healthy and has been healthy… And assuming that Raleigh isn’t lost for, I don’t know, four to six weeks, they should be okay,” continued Rosenthal. “No one’s running away with that division… I don’t know if any one injury is going to mean that much negatively to the Mariners.”

All things considered, a trip to the IL for the first time in his career might be what Cal Raleigh needs to reset and bounce back in a big way for the rest of the regular season. The six-year veteran is on pace for the worst year of his MLB career, but he still has time to right the ship and lead the Mariners through the AL West.

In 41 games played this season, Raleigh owns a .161 batting average and .243 OBP while recording 26 hits, seven home runs, and 18 RBIs through 161 at-bats. The Mariners are expected to give Mitch Garver the starting nod at catcher while the 2025 home run champion sits out with a right oblique injury.