Mariners News: George Kirby update, Luke Raley 1B impact, Cal Raleigh's unusual autograph

Good news, everyone. The Seattle Mariners are less than two weeks from playing meaningful baseball. Opening Day against the Athletics on March 27 will be here sooner than you know it.

As for what other news Mariners fans should be aware of, the round-up for Friday begins with an encouraging update on injured ace George Kirby, positive reviews of Luke Raley's work at first base, and a Cal Raleigh autograph that defies explanation.

George Kirby is progressing

It's been a week since the Mariners revealed that Kirby has inflammation in his right shoulder and, accordingly, that he is likely to start the 2025 season on the injured list. Yet the bright side even then was that he has no structural damage, and it seems that his recovery is going well.

As reported by Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports, the 27-year-old Kirby was revealed Thursday to have gotten a biologics injection, which should promote healing in his shoulder. The hope is that he'll return to strengthening activities within three or four days.

“It is as to be expected,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said, per Drayer. “A couple of days after the injection let it cool down and they are in a process of putting a game plan together.”

It remains unknown when Kirby's shutdown from throwing will be lifted, but the Mariners can afford to be patient. There's no sense in rushing Kirby back, as the Mariners have a capable fill-in for him in the person of Emerson Hancock. The former first-rounder hasn't had the best spring, but he has a new pitch and is putting more miles per hour on his fastball.

Luke Raley is ready for the challenge at first base

Also on Thursday came a report from Adam Jude of the Seattle Times on Raley's transition from the outfield to first base, which has at least one Mariners coach feeling bullish.

“He’s come leaps and bounds since last year,” infield coach Perry Hill told Jude. “He’s got a tremendous work ethic, a tremendous attitude. He’s really improved picking the ball. He puts his mind to it. We tell him what we want, how to do it, what we need, and he applies himself.”

In case anyone needs a reminder, the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Raley has the physicality and power of a first baseman. And the bat will play there just fine in 2025, provided the 30-year-old holds to the 127 OPS+ he's posted over the last two seasons.

As Raley only has 59 career starts at first base, how he'll handle himself defensively has been the big question. A good review isn't necessarily a promise in this regard, but it'll do for an optimistic sign for an infield that also has a question mark at third base, where Jorge Polanco is transitioning from second.

Cal Raleigh signs a bag of Cheetos

Somebody once told me that a headline is a promise. So, without further ado, here is Gold and Platinum Glove-winning catcher Cal Raleigh autographing a young fan's bag of Cheetos:

If it's context you want, well, sorry. I've got nothing. My first instinct was to wonder if Raleigh had a special affinity for Cheetos, a la Marshawn Lynch and Skittles. But unless I'm out of touch and/or out of the loop, this seems to just be fun for fun's sake.

Not that anyone needed another reason to be a fan of "Big Dumper," of course. He is awesome at his job, and a big reason why the Mariners have every right to aim high in 2025.