Mariners' Cal Raleigh back in Seattle to map out next steps in injury rehab

Tim Booth, The Seattle Times on May 31, 2026

Published in Baseball

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The routine recently for Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh was pretty mundane and repetitive down in Arizona away from his teammates.

Treatment, rehab, more treatment, more rehab and maybe a little bit of basic baseball activity. And then more rehab.

“Getting home early, you don’t really know what to do with yourself just waiting for the games to come on,” he said. “Just a lot of nothing, I guess.”

Slowly, methodically Raleigh is making his way toward getting back on a baseball field and eventually back into the Mariners lineup. He rejoined his teammates dugout during Saturday night’s win over Arizona and Sunday morning provided on update on where he’s at more than two weeks after landing on the injured list for the first time in his career with a right oblique injury.

As kids and parents walked around the field of T-Mobile Park and gawked and took pictures, Raleigh sat in the M’s dugout and said for the most part he’s feeling good while trying to not rush through the process of rehab and recovery.

Raleigh said he was joking with someone recently that the first couple of days after he landed on the IL didn’t feel real. And then he had to accept his situation.

“Once I got to Arizona, it was kind of like the acceptance stage, I guess. And once I got there, I was able to kind of accept it and just realize to try to get back as quick as I can and control what you can control,” Raleigh said. “It’s really hard watching the games on TV, but it's weird watching it, you not being there, it's just like a Twilight Zone kind of feeling. I think it makes you appreciate it a little more when you're that far away.”

Raleigh started maybe the most important step in his recovery Friday when he took 30 swings down in Arizona. He went through a similar workout Saturday before flying back to Seattle. Sunday morning was meeting with the training staff to map out a plan for the next couple of days with the hope that by midweek both the M’s and Raleigh have a better timeline on the next steps.

Raleigh said he’s kept up on his running and lifting and he caught one bullpen while in Arizona. Swinging the bat will be the most significant ongoing test to pass before eventually getting into some rehab games.

“I'm hoping by Wednesday kind of having a better idea of where we're at and what the schedule is, as far as rehab games and where I'm at with that,” he said. “Obviously, day by day it can change and that's just how it is, unfortunately.

But these next two days will be pretty telling, as far as how things are going, and obviously I want to keep ramping up the baseball slowly but surely, checking boxes, and then from there it'll be just communication with staff and trying to set a plan up to get back as soon as I can.”

Raleigh struggled at the plate before going on the IL, hitting just .161 with seven homers, and acknowledged that he’d been playing through discomfort in his right side. He had an 0-for-38 stretch at the plate that was snapped the day before he aggravated the oblique in Houston and led to the decision to shut him down.

“The IL, don't get me wrong, is not an easy experience and it's difficult in a lot of ways. But in some ways, I think it can be also a nice breath of fresh air,” M’s manager Dan Wilson said. “But Cal's a grinder and wants to get back and wants to be back here. But I do think it will feel a little bit more like a fresh start for him and certainly physically he'll be a much better position.”