Mariners' 1st spring training lineup hides a Luke Raley story under 2 top prospects

The Seattle Mariners are ready to roll for their Cactus League opener against the San Diego Padres, and they're going to give fans a look at two top prospects right off the proverbial bat.

Right there in the No. 8 and No. 9 spots for Friday are Michael Arroyo and Colt Emerson, who'll play second base and third base, respectively. This is "get excited" stuff on account of how MLB Pipeline has both down as a top-100 talent, with Arroyo at No. 67 and Emerson at No. 9.

While Arroyo almost certainly isn't playing for a spot on the Opening Day roster, the Mariners' official position on Emerson is that it's not out of the question. He doesn't have a job to lose, but his effort to earn one begins in earnest today.

Arguably the more interesting story, however, concerns Luke Raley. In a twofold twist, he's batting leadoff and playing center field against the Friars on Friday.

Mariners immediately lay down a challenge for Luke Raley with lineup for Cactus League opener

Raley will be a fish out of water on both sides of the ball for the Mariners' Cactus League opener. He didn't start a single game out of the leadoff spot last year, and he started only seven games in center field across the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Then again, you can see how throwing him right into the deep end is exactly the point.

After Raley had strong debut (128 OPS+, 22 HR, 3.2 rWAR) in Seattle in 2024, last season could not have gone much worse for the 31-year-old. An oblique strain and back spasms sidelined him for all but 73 games during the regular season, and his production slipped to an 85 OPS+ and -0.3 rWAR. Come November, it was a mild surprise that he wasn't non-tendered.

The Mariners still have faith in Raley, at least to the extent that the hope is to use the lefty swinger in platoons with the righty swingers Victor Robles and Rob Refsnyder. Given his 126 wRC+ against right-handers for his career, it's a solid plan on paper.

And yet, you can read Raley's leadoff assignment as a sign that the Mariners want to give him as many at-bats as possible to prove he's ready to bounce back. By also putting him in center field, the message is, "We also want to see if we can trust you to spell Julio Rodríguez every now and again."

These are questions Raley can't answer in one game, and it's probably a reach to say his roster spot is on thin ice. But if he can get any motivation out of treating it like it is, that might not be the worst idea.