Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Cal Raleigh delivered an unexpected grand slam that fueled a dominant shutout victory for his team on Monday night.
- The Reds opted to walk the hitter in front of Raleigh to load the bases. The Mariners catcher made them pay.
- The question now is whether this performance signals a turnaround or remains an outlier in a year that has otherwise been filled with frustration.
For perhaps the first time all season, Cal Raleigh can say that he came through when the Seattle Mariners needed him.
The embattled veteran catcher hit a grand slam against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night, leading the Mariners to an 8-0 victory and pushing Seattle back into first place. Raleigh and the Mariners entered Tuesday with a half-game lead over the rival Texas Rangers.
Clearly, the Reds didn’t expect Raleigh to even drive a runner in. Cincinnati passed on Caleb Ferguson facing Dominic Canzone in a lefty-on-lefty situation to set up a double play against someone who was hitless in his past 15 at-bats.
Wanted Cal Raleigh. Got Cal Raleigh. pic.twitter.com/BmMvnVwykL
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) July 21, 2026
Objectively, Reds manager Terry Francona’s decision wasn’t overly egregious. Raleigh is still only hitting .163 with a .573 OPS and only 10 home runs in nearly 300 plate appearances.
“It’s been a hard year,” Raleigh said. “Overall, it’s frustrating. And I think sometimes, you can start to feel sorry for yourself or get a little frustrated. But understanding that there’s still a lot of season left and we’re still in the hunt … and we still have a job to do.”
Can Cal Raleigh finally turn his Mariners season around?
Some of Raleigh’s issues this year have been self-inflicted, and we’re not solely talking about his 32% strikeout rate. He turned heads for the wrong reason during the World Baseball Classic, engaging in a public feud with Mariners teammate Randy Arozarena over a handshake, of all things. Both players publicly apologized through the team.
Unfortunately for Raleigh, his grand slam shouldn’t raise optimism about him coming anywhere close to resuming his 2025 form. Not only has his strikeout rate skyrocketed, but his 3.4% home run rate is his worst since becoming a full-time starter in 2022. Consider that he averaged a 5.6% home run rate from 2022-2024.
I’m hesitant to call Raleigh a one-year wonder, only because he averaged nearly 4.0 bWAR over that three-season stretch. He’ll get a pass if he never reaches the 60-home run mark again, only because so few players have even had multiple 50-home run seasons.
Why Mariners fans should still be concerned about Cal Raleigh
However, Raleigh’s .266 on-base percentage is well below his .309 lifetime average, as is his .307 slugging percentage. Couple that with the Arozarena beef, and you’ll understand why Raleigh has lost some of the goodwill that he built up last year.
Possibly the best postgame interview of the season.
— Blowen’ Wilson🔱 (@MarinersGlaze) July 21, 2026
A lot is said between the lines here.
Cal speaks on frustrations this season, renewed energy in the dugout, hustle, and the team being rewarded for a team-first approach and playing the game the right way. pic.twitter.com/mUTQ0N4vSO
The best-case scenario for Raleigh in 2026 is finishing as a replacement-level player. He’s still only at -0.2 bWAR, and even that feels generous. But what’s strange is that FanGraphs believes that Raleigh, for all of his issues at the plate, is worth 0.5 fWAR.
There’s still plenty of baseball to be played, and the Mariners would host the surging Red Sox in the Wild Card Round. For the Mariners to finally reach their first World Series, they’ll need Raleigh to remind us why he finished second in AL MVP voting last year.
But based on all that we’ve seen thus far, Raleigh has a long way to go before earning our confidence again.
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