Crushing Luke Raley injury is another unwelcome test for Mariners roster

The Seattle Mariners have lost yet another key position player for an extended period of time, and this time it's one of their core sluggers.

As relayed by Tim Booth of The Seattle Times, the Mariners on Wednesday placed right fielder Luke Raley on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain. He sustained the injury while taking batting practice ahead of Tuesday's 5-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels, and the footage aired by Root Sports during the game showed that Raley was in clear pain when it happened.

The Mariners could ill afford to lose Luke Raley, who will be out for at least 6 weeks

There is no such thing as an oblique strain that is simple to recover from, and Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports reports that Raley's will sideline him for six weeks before he's even able to go out on a rehab assignment:

This means the Mariners could be without Raley for months, not just weeks. It is a huge blow that will further test a lineup that is already straining under the weight of injuries.

Even setting aside second baseman Ryan Bliss' torn biceps, Raley had only been playing right field in the first place because Victor Robles is out with a fracture in his left shoulder. The Mariners were fortunate to have Raley standing by to move from first base to right field, just as they're fortunate that Julio Rodríguez and now J.P. Crawford have largely stabilized the leadoff spot in Robles' stead.

However, it's hard to sugarcoat the loss of Raley's bat. He posted a 127 OPS+ with solid power across 2023 and 2024, and even his "slow" start to 2025 was seeing him get on base at a .345 clip. His walk rate had effectively doubled from 5.9 to 11.9 percent.

With Raley out and Dylan Moore having also hit the IL this week, the first man up for the Mariners in right field is Samad Taylor. He's a former top prospect who resembles a lottery ticket after a hot showing for Triple-A Tacoma, batting .321/.390/.560 in 24 games.

Taylor only has 34 major league games under his belt, however, and he has tended to have swing and miss in his game. If he doesn't hit, his hold on right field may only last until Moore is recovered from hip inflammation, which Daniel Kramer of MLB.com notes could be as soon as next week.

Yet the right-handed-hitting Moore is also the Mariners' best option at second base while Bliss is out. And as left-handed platoon options go, neither Miles Mastrobuoni nor the newly promoted Rhylan Thomas offer much in the way of offensive impact. But are contact-first types with limited power.

Dominic Canzone is another option for the Mariners in this regard, and he's slugging .512 for Tacoma through 11 games. His own major league work nonetheless leaves much to be desired, with a .649 OPS to show for 128 games.

It's a bit soon for Jerry Dipoto to be thinking about impact trades. The summer market is going to be dormant until the season gets closer to the July 31 trade deadline. By then, Raley could already be back and Robles could be nearing his return as well. And besides, the top outfielder who could be available this summer (Luis Robert Jr.) is mired in a brutal slump.

The Mariners' best play for the immediate future may involve getting creative. As an example, they might consider trying out top prospect Harry Ford in right field in Tacoma and see if he takes to it. The catcher's bat is arguably major league-ready right now, and he has the athleticism to hack it in the outfield.

Right here and right now, the Mariners are in wait-and-see territory. That they're 17-12 and scoring runs at an impressive clip is the good news, but there's just no escaping the question of how much more bad news this team can survive.