3 Mariners named AL Silver Slugger finalists

A trio of Seattle Mariners – catcher Cal Raleigh, center fielder Julio Rodríguez and second baseman Jorge Polanco – were named American League Silver Slugger Award finalists on Thursday.

The Silver Slugger Awards are given annually to the best hitter in the league at each position, as determined by voting from managers and players. The Silver Slugger winners will be announced on Nov. 7.

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Raleigh, coming off a record-setting 60-homer campaign, is a presumptive favorite to win his first Silver Slugger Award. The All-Star catcher became just the seventh player in MLB history to reach 60 home runs in a season and finished just two homers shy of the AL record.

Raleigh broke the Mariners franchise record for most homers in a season, surpassing Ken Griffey Jr.’s mark of 56 in 1997 and 1998. He broke the MLB single-season record for most homers by a switch-hitter, surpassing Mickey Mantle’s 54 in 1961. And he shattered the MLB single-season record for most homers by a catcher, surpassing Salvador Perez’s 48 in 2021.

Raleigh slashed .247/.359/.589 with a .948 OPS and an AL-leading 125 RBIs. He finished second in the AL in slugging percentage, third in OPS and tied for seventh in on-base percentage. The other AL finalists at catcher are the Athletics’ Shea Langeliers and Kansas City’s Salvador Perez.

With another scorching second half of the season, Rodríguez slashed .267/.324/.474 with 32 homers, 30 steals and a .798 OPS. The three-time All-Star was one of just three AL players with 30-plus homers and 30-plus steals.

Rodríguez already won a pair of Silver Sluggers in 2022 and 2023, which made him the only player to win the award in each of his first two seasons. The other AL outfield finalists are New York’s Aaron Judge, Toronto’s George Springer, New York’s Cody Bellinger, Minnesota’s Byron Buxton and Detroit’s Riley Greene.

After being hampered by injuries in 2024, Polanco had a major bounceback campaign this season. The 32-year-old veteran slashed .265/.326/.495 with 26 homers and an .821 OPS. He led all AL second basemen in slugging percentage and OPS, while finishing second in batting average and tied for third in homers.

Polanco is a Silver Slugger finalist for the second time in his 11-year career. The other AL finalists at second base are New York’s Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Tampa Bay’s Brandon Lowe.

The Mariners also were named a finalist for the AL Silver Slugger Team of the Year Award. The other AL team finalists are the Yankees and the pennant-winning Blue Jays.

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