Mariners' Cal Raleigh problem will still be present when he's back from injury

The Seattle Mariners are having a strange 2026 MLB season. While they might only have a 30-29 record on the year, they're 1.5 games up on the Athletics in the weak American League West.

But one of the more troubling things for the Mariners so far in 2026 is the obvious injury to superstar catcher Cal Raleigh. He's on the injured list with an oblique injury, has missed some time, and will continue to be out for a while.

But, as Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report highlighted, the problem with Raleigh isn't simply when he will return to action for the Mariners. When he is back, there will still be a concern with how he fares coming off an oblique injury that can be tough on catchers.

Cal Raleigh's oblique problem might linger even when he's back for Mariners

"Cal Raleigh had a .560 OPS when he landed on the IL more than two weeks ago with an oblique strain, and he just picked up a bat for the first time on Friday," Miller writes. "Even mild oblique injuries can linger for a while with catchers, so only time will tell how long it takes for him to return to action - and ideally return to 2025 form."

Seattle is without their 29-year-old MVP-runner-up catcher after his 60-homer campaign in 2025. That alone is clearly a big problem for the Mariners.

But, even when Raleigh returns to action for the Mariners, there will be concerns about how good he will be. He might be a solid player, but whether he can return to 2025 form is very much in question.

This season, before he landed on the injured list, Raleigh was sporting a .560 OPS with a .161 batting average and a terrible 61 OPS+, which was over 100 points lower than his 167 OPS+ from a season ago.

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Raleigh won't be hitting 60 homers this season, and likely won't even reach 50, and maybe not even 40 on the season.

Getting their MVP-caliber catcher back to his peak self would be huge for the Mariners this season, but Miller's point brings up the big problem with Raleigh.

This oblique issue might not go away for some time, even when he's back in the lineup. Raleigh might be playing well below 100% for much of the season, and the Mariners need to be careful with him as well.

Seattle's Raleigh problem is not a simple one, and it's an issue that might not go away for some time, even once he's back from the injured list.

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