Raley went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional run scored during Sunday's 5-4 win over Houston.
Raley led off the sixth inning and delivered a solo home run -- his first in 62 plate appearances this year -- to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead. Through 25 games as a backup outfielder and first baseman, Raley is batting .230 with six runs scored and four RBI while striking out at a 29.7 percent clip.
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Mariners' Luke Raley: Sits down against southpaw
Rotowire
Raley isn't in the Mariners' lineup Saturday against Houston.
Framber Valdez will toe the slab for the Astros on Saturday, meaning the lefty-hitting Raley will step out of the lineup. Sam Haggerty will enter as Seattle's left fielder and bat ninth.
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Mariners' Luke Raley: Hits bench against lefty
Rotowire
Raley is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against Atlanta.
The lefty-hitting Raley had started in left field in four of the past five games, but he'll head to the bench for the series finale with southpaw Chris Sale on the bump for Atlanta. Switch-hitter Sam Haggerty will draw the start in left field Wednesday, but Raley should occupy the strong side of a platoon at the position until Dominic Canzone (shoulder) returns from the 10-day injured list.
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Mariners' Luke Raley: Draws third straight start
Rotowire
Raley will start in right field and bat sixth in Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.
Raley had started both of the last two games in left field, but he'll head over to right field in the series finale while Mitch Haniger gets the day off. Haniger appears to be entrenched as the Mariners' preferred right fielder, but the playing time in left field seems to be tilting in Raley's favor of late. Both Raley and Jonatan Clase are likely to eventually lose out on opportunities in the Seattle outfield once Dominic Canzone (shoulder) returns from the injured list.
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Mariners' Luke Raley: Productive from bottom of order
Rotowire
Raley went 2-for-3 with an RBI single and a stolen base in a win over the Diamondbacks on Saturday.
Hitting eighth and playing left field, Raley drew his fourth start in five games Saturday night and delivered in the low-scoring victory, driving in the Mariners' first run of the game in the fifth inning with a timely knock. Raley also swiped his first base of the season, and he was able to get his average back over the Mendoza line (.204) with what was his second multi-hit effort in the last five games.
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Mariners' Luke Raley: Back on bench Thursday
Rotowire
Raley is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rangers.
Raley had started each of the past three games, going 3-for-12 during that stretch to lift his season-long batting average to a porous .186. Though the Mariners have an opening in the outfield with Dominic Canzone (shoulder) on the injured list, Raley may play second fiddle to Jonatan Clase while he continues to languish at the plate.
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Mariners' Luke Raley: Reaches Mendoza line Sunday
Rotowire
Raley went 2-for-4 with a run during a win over the Rockies in the second game of a doubleheader Sunday.
Raley put together his second multi-hit effort of the season in the high-scoring victory, with both having come within his last three starts. The offseason addition raised his average to .200 with Sunday's productive day, but he's still in search of his first home run of the campaign after slugging a career-high 19 for the Rays in 2023.
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Mariners' Luke Raley: Back to bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Raley is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Reds.
The lefty-hitting Raley will head to the bench with southpaw Andrew Abbott on the hill for the Reds after going 2-for-10 with a triple and an RBI while starting in each of the past three games. Raley's opportunities to play against right-handed pitching look to be on the rise, but he's still not expected to be the primary replacement in left field for Dominic Canzone (shoulder), who was placed on the 10-day injured list earlier in the week. Instead, prospect Jonatan Clase is expected to get the first opportunity to fill in for Canzone.
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Mariners' Luke Raley: Comes up empty in rare start
Rotowire
Raley drew his first start since April 7 in Sunday's loss to the Cubs and went 0-for-3.
The blanking at the plate means Raley is now 0-for-11 over the last four games in which he's logged a plate appearance, with his last hit, a double, having come on April 3. The rough start at the plate means the offseason addition projects to remain in a low-volume reserve role for now, with Sunday's opportunity coming about due to manager Scott Servais opting to give the equally struggling Julio Rodriguez a "rest day," per the Associated Press.
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Mariners' Luke Raley: Stuck in backup role
Rotowire
Raley is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Guardians.
After being acquired from the Rays in January, the lefty-hitting Raley looked to be a candidate to open the season in a strong-side platoon role, but a poor spring resulted in him falling behind Dominic Canzone and Mitch Haniger in the competition for regular starts versus righties out of the corner outfield. Though Canzone is on the bench Wednesday, Raley will be riding pine along with him while the Guardians bring southpaw Logan Allen to the hill.
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Mariners' Luke Raley: Comes to life in spring finale
Rotowire
Raley went 2-for-3 with a three-run double and a triple in a Cactus League tie with the Cubs on Sunday.
Raley's acquisition in the early-January Jose Caballero trade to the Rays was lauded at the time, given the 29-year-old's positional versatility and the fact he was coming off the best season of his career at the plate in 2023. However, an utterly forgettable start to Cactus League play that saw Raley go 1-for-23 over his first 10 exhibitions was the source of plenty of frustration. Nevertheless, Raley's bat came around over the latter portion of the Mariners' spring training slate, as he finished 6-for-17 with Sunday's two-bagger, triple and three RBI over his last six contests. Jesus Cano of MLB.com reports that Raley is expected to have a key reserve role this season and serve as a left-handed source of power, and he adds that manager Scott Servais never lost confidence in the offseason acquisition despite the early struggles. "He's really strong," Servais said. "You can see it even when he just misses them. He hits them high and he's going to be more consistent. I thought his at-bats were really good today."
Mariners' Luke Raley: Scuffling at plate in spring
Rotowire
Raley is hitting .083 (1-for-12) with an RBI, a stolen base, three walks and five strikeouts across his first six Cactus League games.
The January trade acquisition arrived in Seattle following an impressive 2023 in Tampa Bay, but he's had a difficult time replicating that success early in spring training. Raley's early struggles aside, he's expected to operate as the starting right fielder while also serving as the primary backup to Julio Rodriguez in center field, per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com's projected Opening Day roster.
The Rays traded Raley to the Mariners on Friday in exchange for Jose Caballero, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Raley broke out during his first full season in the majors in 2023, slashing .249/.333/.490 with 19 homers and 49 RBI across 406 plate appearances. Now in Seattle, the 28-year-old will join Julio Rodriguez and the re-acquired Mitch Haniger (back) in the Mariners' outfield, though Raley is also capable of covering first base and serving as the DH. Dylan Moore and Sam Haggerty are the most likely options on the Seattle roster to platoon for Raley against left-handed pitching.
