Rule 5 Draft could be the Mariners' ticket to Cal Raleigh's catching partner

Backing up Cal Raleigh is not the most glamorous job in Major League Baseball. And yet, the Seattle Mariners need someone to do it, and it obviously won't be Harry Ford in 2026.

Ford is gone by way of an out-of-nowhere trade for Jose A. Ferrer over the weekend, leaving the Mariners with a better bullpen but no catching partner for Raleigh. What's more, the trade didn't create more room in the budget to go sign a catcher off the free-agent market.

You have to wonder, then, if the Rule 5 Draft will prove to be the Mariners' salvation. It's set to take place on the third day of the Winter Meetings on Wednesday, and the Mariners could get a chance to pick at least two intriguing options with the No. 23 selection.

Rule 5 Draft could provide Mariners' ticket to Cal Raleigh's catching partner

Baseball America has six catchers ranked among the top 75 players who could be picked in the Rule 5 Draft, and among them is a name that some Mariners fans might recognize: Daniel Susac.

His older brother, Andrew, played six seasons in the majors between 2014 and 2020, most notably as Buster Posey's backup on the San Francisco Giants. For his part, Daniel was the Athletics' No. 19 pick in the 2022 draft, and he still ranks as their No. 11 prospect for MLB Pipeline.

Susac was older than 19 when the A's signed him, so he needed to be added to their 40-man roster within four seasons in order to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft. The A's didn't do that, and the decision may well cost them a catcher who hit .275/.349/.483 with 18 home runs for Triple-A Las Vegas in 2025.

The 24-year-old is more of a hit-over-power type, but that's fine for a guy whose main function would be to back up the only 60-homer catcher in MLB history. Susac is otherwise seen as a solid defender who works well with pitchers, a service that Seattle hurlers were used to getting from Mitch Garver when he was backing up "Big Dumper."

Kevin Parada is another draft pick from the 2022 first round who is available, though he hasn't had as much success in the minors as Susac. He's played in 341 games in the New York Mets system and produced a modest .720 OPS, though his defense has improved over the years.

Another name to keep an eye on is Christian Cerda, a 22-year-old in the Arizona Diamondbacks system. Though not counted among Arizona's top prospects, he had a .789 OPS and 18 home runs while playing for Double-A Amarillo this season. Amarillo is a hitters' haven, but it's hard to fake his 263-to-291 career walk-to-strikeout ratio in the minors.

Still another is Matthew Wood. He's a 24-year-old in the Milwaukee Brewers system who doesn't have much power, but who has a .365 OBP in four minor league seasons. His defense is also suspect, though he's at least seen as a solid catch-and-throw guy.

No matter who (if anyone) the Mariners choose, affordability is what makes the prospect of finding a backup catcher via the Rule 5 Draft so appealing.

Whereas it would cost several million dollars to re-sign Garver or add someone similar as a free agent, the Rule 5 Draft is associated with much lower costs: a $100,000 fee to the player's former organization, and then the league minimum if the player makes it onto the Mariners' roster. The only caveat is that the given player has to stick on his new team's active roster for the whole season. He can't be sent to the minors without first clearing waivers and then getting offered back to his original team for $50,000.

Ultimately, we'll see what happens when the Mariners are on the clock.