It may be time for Mariners’ Cal Raleigh to make some tradeoffs

Seattle Mariners star Cal Raleigh has shown he can be MLB’s best defensive catcher. He’s also shown he can be the league’s best hitting catcher.

Trevor May: Mariners’ Brendan Donovan ‘has been as advertised’

In 2024, Raleigh was awarded with the Platinum Glove, which is given to baseball’s top defenders regardless of position.

In 2025, Raleigh clubbed 60 home runs in a historic season where he set new MLB records for homers by primary catchers and switch-hitters.

It’s hard to imagine Raleigh slugging 60 homers in a season again. But could he put together a season where he’s simultaneously baseball’s best offensive and defensive catcher?

That would seem be the next step in what’s already been an impressive big league career for Raleigh. But it may not be a realistic expectation.

During a conversation with Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy on Wednesday, former MLB pitcher and member of the Rates & Barrells podcast Trevor May wondered if the heavily relied upon Raleigh could benefit from making some tradeoffs in his game.

“I just think it’s to the point where he does so much that some things are going to suffer from fatigue, or you have to kind of let certain things go,” May said.

May thinks the tradeoff for Raleigh could be focusing less on trying to be an elite defensive catcher in order to make sure he’s as fresh as possible to make an impact at the plate.

“Maybe as he gets a little older and plays a lot more, because he plays a lot of games and DH’s when he’s not catching, that there’s going to be these tradeoffs that start to happen where he’s like, you know what, I’m OK if I don’t throw every single person out, or I’m OK if I don’t grab every strike, because I need to be able to swing a bat, because I’m exhausted,” May said.

The impact of ABS on Raleigh’s defense

Part of what made Raleigh’s defense so good during 2024 were his abilities as a pitch framer. May pointed out that the Florida State product was particularly elite at framing high strikes. But with MLB implementing the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) System this year, it’s become harder to steal strikes, making pitch framing less important.

“I think that Platinum Glove year was a little bit of an outlier, because one thing Cal does really well – he’s a big guy – he could steal strikes at the top of the zone,” May said. “He did that really well that year. He was the best in the league at doing it. That strike is gone, no one calls it anymore. It went away last year when the umpires were trying to change and get ready for ABS, and now all the guys that were good at grabbing the high strike aren’t good at it anymore. That’s where his defense, metrically, has just fallen off is that high strike went way, which was something he was just far away better at than everyone in the league.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player in this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

More on the Seattle Mariners

• Changes helping Mariners’ Luke Raley look like his old self
• Former Mariners clubhouse favorite continuing career in Mexico
• How will Bryce Miller’s return impact Seattle Mariners rotation?
• Keith Law’s under-the-radar Seattle Mariners prospect to watch
• M’s have ‘done tremendous job’ following rebuild blueprint

Related

Lineup: J.P. Crawford returns for Mariners in Game 2 vs RangersMariners Trade Deadline: 2 teams with bullpen targetsM’s prospect Kade Anderson perfect in latest gemMariners drop opener of big series vs Rangers 5-4Lineups: No J.P. for Mariners as big series in Texas startsJake Peavy: Mariners, Padres GMs have had conversations