Mariners’ Luke Raley showing he’s worth keeping an eye on

There was something encouraging to come out of the Seattle Mariners’ Cactus League game on Tuesday that M’s fans didn’t see much of in 2025: a Luke Raley home run.

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Raley was a reliable source of power in 2024, his first season with the Mariners, hitting a career-high 22 homers along with 19 doubles and two triples in 455 plate appearances for a .783 OPS. But 2025 was a struggle for the big lefty swinger, as he was limited to 73 games due to an oblique injury and hit just four home runs, only one of which came after June.

That left Raley as somewhat of an afterthought on Seattle’s roster this offseason, but he’s done a nice job in spring training action to provide a reminder of what he’s capable of. Following a 3-for-4 performance against the Padres on Tuesday, including the homer off of former All-Star Germán Márquez, Raley is hitting .278 with an .866 OPS in 36 Cactus League plate appearances.

The 31-year-old Raley will need to make the most of his opportunities early in the regular season, which starts in just eight days, because he doesn’t exactly have a set role going in.

Seattle has Victor Robles in place to be the right-handed side of a platoon in right field, leaving Raley to fight Dominic Canzone for at-bats as the left-handed part of that equation. Canzone is coming off a strong second half to the 2025 season and tied for second on the surprising Italy team in the World Baseball Classic with five RBIs, so he’s likely ahead of Raley on the depth chart.

Raley can also play first base, but he would only see time there when big offseason re-signing Josh Naylor has a day off. That leaves Raley fighting for at-bats as a backup at the three outfield positions, first base and potentially designated hitter.

If Raley can take advantage when given a shot to play, though, he’s a great candidate to be an X-factor for the Mariners this year.

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