Cal Raleigh has soreness in side, out of Mariners’ lineup again

The Seattle Mariners will be without star catcher Cal Raleigh for at least another game.

Raleigh is not in the lineup for Sunday’s series finale against the Kansas City Royals, which is set for a 1:10 p.m. first pitch at T-Mobile Park.

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Mariners manager Dan Wilson said before Sunday’s game that Raleigh has soreness in his side. Daniel Kramer, who covers the Mariners for MLB.com, reported that Raleigh is day-to-day and was expected to go through some drills before Sunday’s game to assess his status.

Raleigh said Sunday that he tweaked his right side at some point in Friday’s game. Raleigh said he felt discomfort upon waking up Saturday but felt better Sunday.

“Just kind of felt it postgame Friday night and didn’t really think too much of it,” Raleigh said. “You know, normal – things happen in games throughout the season. Woke up the next day and it stayed sore. I let the staff know and just trying to play it safe.”

Raleigh said he had not received results of imaging yet but was optimistic he’s trending in the right direction.

“All signs are pointing to positive as far as how I feel and everything, so that’s good,” he said. “Woke up today feeling a lot better and we’ll just take it kind of day by day and see where we’re at. … Compared to where it was feeling postgame Friday and yesterday early, very positive, very encouraging.”

Raleigh said he felt the issue with his side during the game Friday. They have yet to get the MRI results back but he is feeling much better. He understands the need to be cautious right now but feels things are moving in a good direction.

— Shannon Drayer (@shannondrayer) May 3, 2026

The Mariners scratched Raleigh from Saturday’s lineup about 90 minutes before the 6:40 p.m. scheduled start. After the game, a 3-2 M’s loss in 10 innings, Wilson said Raleigh was dealing with “general soreness” and had undergone imaging.

Prior to Saturday, Raleigh had played in every game this season either as Seattle’s catcher, the designated hitter, or as a pinch-hitter off of the bench.

With Raleigh out of the lineup, Jhonny Pereda is set to make his M’s debut behind the plate. The 30-year-old Pereda was called up from Triple-A Tacoma just prior to Saturday’s game after Raleigh was scratched. He’s played 48 career MLB games over the past two seasons with Miami, the Athletics and Minnesota, hitting .241 (26 for 108) with six doubles.

Returning to the Mariners’ lineup Sunday is Rob Refsnyder, who will be the DH and hit in the leadoff spot against Royals left-handed starting pitcher Kris Bubic. Refsnyder last started a game on Monday, though he did get an at-bat Saturday as a pinch-hitter. Wilson said Friday the veteran right-handed platoon bat had been dealing with some “minor ailments.”

The Mariners (16-18) are turning to Luis Castillo on the mound as they aim to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Royals (14-19). Seattle came into the series having won six of seven, but lost Friday after trying to come back from allowing four runs in the first inning, then fell again on Saturday despite a dominant 14-strikeout performance by Emerson Hancock as closer Andrés Muñoz could not convert a save after being handed a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning.

Here’s the full Mariners lineup for Sunday:

Series finale on deck. pic.twitter.com/iQKjjM9Chn

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) May 3, 2026

Mariners Radio Network coverage on Seattle Sports of Sunday’s game starts at 11 a.m. with the weekly Trident Talk magazine show, following by pregame at noon.

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