Budding Mariners fan favorite could force an awkward depth chart conversation

As poorly as Cal Raleigh was hitting prior to going on the Injured List for the first time in his Major League career, no one's going to pretend it was a positive development. While it's obviously better to have the healthy version of him in the lineup, this still represented a significant absence. At the same time, it might have just provided a platform for Jhonny Pereda to show he has a future in Seattle.

Expectations within the Mariners fanbase were limited for a player with just 48 games of Major League experience, batting .241 with a .595 OPS in 118 combined plate appearances for the Marlins, Athletics and Twins. However, Pereda at least gave some cause to pay attention when he played in two games this season for the M's in early May, which included going 2-for-2 and scoring a run in a 3-1 win versus the Braves.

Now, with Raleigh currently out for an undetermined amount of time with his right oblique strain, Pereda is giving more reason for Mariners fans to sit up and take notice. This including making a heads-up play on the basepaths during the third inning of Monday's series opener versus the White Sox.

However, that paled in comparison to Pereda giving the Mariners the lead in Wednesday 's rubber match against the White Sox, on their way to clinching an important 5-4 win. And wouldn't you know it also doubled as the first home run of his Major League career:

Jhonny Pereda doing more than meets the eye for the Mariners

Aside from getting people in Seattle buzzing and potentially becoming a fan favorite, Pereda is earning praise from media experts praising his intangibles. This includes Joe Doyle of the Over-Slot Baseball podcast, who used to be an MLB consulting scout. While Doyle said the 30-year-old isn't an impact player per se, he still does a lot of things that won't show up on a spreadsheet.

In theory Pereda won't be long for the roster, as he has a minor league option and Raleigh won't be out forever. However, what if he impresses enough between now and then to make the Mariners think whether he might be better than Mitch Garver?

Now yes, Garver has his value including a strong rapport with the pitching staff and a tremendous knack for knowing when to use ABS. In addition he's not making much money and is on a guaranteed contract with no options. However, he's 35 and hitting even worse than his first two seasons in Seattle, with a dire .155 batting average and .553 OPS.

It's only a limited sample size so far of a .235 batting average, .728 OPS and 111 OPS+ in 19 plate appearances over six games for Pereda. However, at a certain point the Mariners have to go with the best roster. And as respected as Garver is, does he really bring enough to the table at this point?

Of course key to this is Pereda continuing to produce at a similar level to what he's done so far, if not better. If he does, it's going to lead to an awkward but necessary conversation for manager Dan Wilson. And harsh or not, we have a feeling there will be plenty of Mariners fans more than happy to see Pereda replace Garver as Raleigh's backup.

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