Welcome to New Players Who Came After Mid-December: Garver, Haniger, DeSclafani, Raley, and Voth!

OF and 1B Luke Raley

Luke Raley is a 26-year-old native of Ohio. The Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him in the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft from Lake Erie College. In the 2016 season, Raley played for the AZL Dodgers, the Ogden Raptors, and the Great Lakes Loons.  He spent 2017 with one team, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

He started the 2018 season with the Tulsa Drillers. The Dodgers sent him to the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline.  He had an injury that limited him to 33 games with the Twins AAA team, the Rochester Red Wings. The Dodgers reacquired him in February of 2020.  He did not play that year as he was in the minor leagues.

Raley made his debut on April 9, 2021, in a game against the Nationals, and then appeared in 33 games. The Dodgers traded Luke to the Tampa Bay Rays on March 18, 2022. Luke played in the outfield and at first base in 2023. He was the first Ray to hit an inside-the-park home run at Oracle Park in San Francisco; although Raley was not known for his speed, he tapped all four bases and was safe at home. He played in 118 games, had a batting average of .249, and hit 19 home runs.

Tampa Bay traded Raley to the Mariners on January 5 in exchange for Jose Caballero.  We know that Luke Raley is a newlywed since he found out about the trade while dominating pool volleyball on his honeymoon.

RHP Austin Voth

Austin Voth signed with Seattle as a free agent. He is a Redmond, WA native! We expect a lot of support from his friends and family!

Voth (sounds like "both," rather than "broth"), attended Kentwood HS and then the University of Washington. The Nationals drafted him from UW in the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft.

Austin spent a few years in the Nationals' minor leagues and made his debut on July 14, 2018, against the New York Mets. He stayed with the Nationals for four more years and then spent part of 2022 and 2023 up I-95 with the Baltimore Orioles. He has been a starting and relief pitcher.

While he did not have to drive far for a mid-year shift, he went the distance in pitching. In the beginning of 2022 with Washington, he had a 10.13 ERA over 18.2 innings as a relief pitcher. In the second half of that year, he had a 3.04 ERA over 83 innings. Pitcherlist put out an article called, "What's Going On with Austin Voth?" to describe the difference. One element was a shift in the types of pitches he chose to throw.

Voth spent time during the 2023 season on and off the injured list and on rehab assignments as he had pain in his elbow. He had a 5.19 ERA as a relief pitcher in the MLB games in which pitched.

I am looking forward to seeing these new players in Mariners' uniforms!