By Brittany Wisner, edited by Charles Hamaker

Seattle, WA - The Seattle Mariners are 46-37 with a 4.5 game lead for the top spot in the American League West. Barring an epic and swift collapse, they are poised to be buyers at this year’s trade deadline, and they seemed more primed than ever to actually add to their roster and push for a deep playoff run.

Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh pictured through the 2024 MLB season, so far. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)

It is apparent that the team needs to add at least one big-time bat in order to help what has been a truly anemic offense. The most frequently discussed positions to bolster at the deadline have been corner outfield, first base and third base – and while there are arguably many holes to fill and different directions the front office could go in, I feel the precariousness of the Mariners’ catching situation warrants consideration for a deadline addition.

Dinged Up Dumper

My concern around the Mariners catching situation all begins and ends with the health of Cal Raleigh.

Now, you may be asking, “What do you mean? I haven’t heard of any injuries to Cal?” And you would be correct; you haven’t heard of anything, and you won’t. Raleigh is as much of an old-school, grit-and-grind type of catcher as there is. He is not one to ever disclose his various bumps, bruises, and broken bones. It was not until the end of the 2022 season that we found out he had been playing with torn ligaments and a broken bone in his left thumb for the entire postseason and possibly longer.

The following are observations and pure speculation based on those observations.

On May 20th, Raleigh appeared to have KT tape on the back of his neck in the opening game against the Yankees in New York. KT tape is used to help improve blood flow, reduce swelling and aid in general muscle movement. In subsequent games, there were visible cupping marks (another treatment used to help alleviate pain and reduce inflammation) on the back of his neck.

Since May 20th was the first time we saw any indication that Raleigh had been receiving treatment on his neck, let's take a look at his offensive numbers using that date as a reference point.

Prior to 5/20 (162 PA):

.228 avg
.765 OPS
120 wRC+
10 HR
Average exit velocity: 94 mph

Since 5/20 (121 PA):

.163 avg
.545 OPS
59 wRC+
3 HR
Average exit velocity: 89.7 mph

The contrast is stark. It feels more than fair to speculate about Raleigh's health given what both the numbers and our eyes are telling us.

In addition to any neck issues he may be having, there is probably a good chance he is dealing with other ailments as well. And while yes, almost all catchers deal with injuries to a certain degree throughout the season, the beating that Cal has taken behind the plate the past couple years has been exceptional.

Josh Rojas was recently on the Foul Territory podcast and was asked what fans might not know about Raleigh. He pointed immediately to the beating that his teammate regularly takes behind the plate:

“I think the thing that the fans don’t see is [that]. . . after the first game, this guy is pretty beat up. He’s taken foul balls off of every part of his body, he’s got guys throwing 100 mph sinkers into that thumb[. . .]. He’s pretty much beat up the whole year and he does a very good job of going out there every day and not letting anybody know that he might be going through something.”

— Josh Rojas, Seattle Mariners infielder, on teammate Cal Raleigh

The Mariners have put themselves in a position offensively where they are heavily reliant on Raleigh for production in the middle of the order. He is regularly batting fourth or fifth in the lineup and leads the team in both home runs and RBI. It is imperative that they keep him relatively healthy which means finding ways to DH him or get him off his feet altogether on a semi-regular basis.

Which brings us to Mitch Garver.

Signed initially to primarily be the teams designated hitter, Mitch Garver has been catching George Kirby and recently other members of the Seattle Mariners starting rotation in an attempt to help get his bat going. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)

Hoping for Health

As the roster currently stands, the Mariners are relying on Mitch Garver to be their number two catcher.

While I think Garver is more than serviceable behind the plate – his pop time is slightly better than league average, he keeps the ball in front of him and has proven able to quickly develop rapport with pitchers – I have concerns about Garver’s reliability.

In mid-April, I dove into some of Garver’s history in an effort to identify any trends that may have explained his early-season struggles. What I discovered was an injury history that was much more extensive than I had realized.

The list of injuries is long, so I will only date back to 2020 and stick to injuries that cost him any length of time.

August 2020: Intercostal strain (10-day IL, missed 27 games)
May 2021: Shoulder (early game exit)
May 2021: Right knee contusion (missed two games)
June 2021: Groin contusion + surgery (10-day IL, missed 38 games)
July 2021: Bruised wrist (missed one game)
August 2021: Low back tightness (10-day IL, missed 26 games)
May 2022: Forearm flexor strain (10-day IL, missed 10 games)
July 2022: Forearm flexor tendon surgery (60-day IL, missed rest of season)
April 2023: Left knee sprain (10-day IL, missed 48 games)
September 2023: Foot contusion (early game exit)

This list is why the Mariners’ intention upon signing Garver was to utilize him solely in the DH role.

Garver can likely handle one to two games a week on a consistent basis without being ground to a pulp. However, considering Raleigh’s offensive production and assuming his health is the primary cause of its downward trend, it would be ideal to have a backup who could step in more frequently and reliably.

It’s also probably not a bad idea to just plan for Garver to miss time at some point in the season. Of course, it is possible that he could stay healthy for the entirety of the season, but it would be unprecedented and history says it is unlikely.

In Case of Emergency, Break Glass

As things stand, the Mariners would become very thin at the catcher position very quickly if either Garver or Raleigh needed to miss time.

Michael Papierski playing with the Seattle Mariners during Spring Training, back in March, 2024. (Photos by Liv Lyons)

They have two catchers currently in AAA with major league experience: Michael Papierski and Michael Pérez.

Papierski has 91 career at-bats in the big leagues where he has posted a .143 batting average and .415 OPS. He is currently batting .198 with a .655 OPS for the Tacoma Rainiers in the Pacific Coast League.

Pérez has 543 career at-bats with a .179 batting average and .554 OPS at the big league level. This season he is batting .198 with a .636 OPS in the minors.

Seby Zavala did end up clearing waivers after the Mariners designated him for assignment and it looks like he will be reporting to Tacoma. Zavala would likely be the first to get the call and we have probably already seen all that he brings to the table: Zavala hit .154 with a .496 OPS over his 18 games with the Mariners. He struggled at times behind the plate and it isn’t clear how the pitching staff felt about having him as their battery-mate. Mariners pitchers posted a 4.76 ERA with him behind the plate.

Seattle Mariners offseason acquisition Seby Zavala never truly found any semblance of traction with the team this year as the backup catcher behind Cal Raleigh, and his role increased progressively before he was designated for assignment. (Photos by Rio Giancarlo)

These are not viable backup catcher options for a team with contending aspirations.

Trade Targets

So, what additions could be made?

One potential trade target is Danny Jansen. The Blue Jays are close to being guaranteed sellers and Jansen will be a free agent in 2025. He is on a one-year, $5.2 million contract which should be easily doable for the Mariners. Jansen is slashing .230/.320/.408 with 5 home runs and a 109 wRC+ so far this year. He has been an above league average bat his last three seasons and consistently grades out well defensively. Jansen did suffer a small fracture in his right wrist during Spring Training this year but he did not miss much regular season time as a result.

Another option could be Kyle Higashioka if the Padres were to become sellers. They are currently one of many teams who appear on the fence. If Higashioka were to become available, he would be more of a defensive acquisition, though his bat has begun to warm up lately. He is slashing .179/.216/452 on the year. He grades out well defensively and posts consistently. He is set to be a free agent in 2025.

Elias Díaz of the Rockies may also be an option, though health is a current concern. The Rockies are guaranteed to be sellers and Díaz is a free agent at the end of this year, making $6 million this year. He is solid defensively, was an All-Star last year and is slashing .303/.352/.439 in 216 plate appearances so far this year. Unfortunately, Díaz was placed on the injured list on June 14th with a calf strain and there has yet to be any indication how long he will be out for.

TL;DR

The Mariners desperately need Cal’s bat to produce and Cal needs some help getting off his feet in order to do so. Garver is doing a fine job of that for the time being but is unreliable long term. The Mariners are taking a big risk if they decide their plan will be hoping Garver can stay healthy for the first time in four seasons. Hope is not a very good strategy, especially for a team with supposed contending aspirations.

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