Cal Raleigh out of Saturday’s lineup, Jhonny Pereda up; Will Wilson to IL with fractured thumb

$Cal Raleigh out of Saturday’s lineup, Jhonny Pereda up; Will Wilson to IL with fractured thumb$

TL;DR

Cal Raleigh is out of Saturday's lineup for the Mariners, with Jhonny Pereda stepping in as catcher. Will Wilson has been placed on the IL due to a fractured thumb, impacting the team's utility infield depth.

Key points

Cal Raleigh is out of the Mariners' lineup.
Will Wilson is on the IL with a fractured thumb.
Jhonny Pereda is starting as catcher.
Brendan Donovan is set to begin a rehab assignment.
Mariners are shorthanded on utility infielders.

Mentioned in this story

Chicago

Seattle Mariners

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 29: Will Wilson #7 of the Seattle Mariners plays defense during the game between the Seattle Mariners and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Michael Turner/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images Less than an hour before the Mariners were set to take the field for Randy Johnson number retirement night, the Mariners dropped a significant lineup change, removing starting catcher Cal Raleigh and inserting backup catcher. At the same time, the Tacoma Rainiers announced a roster change, scratching their starting catcher for Saturday, Jhonny Pereda. This of course led to a good old-fashioned freakout until the next roster move dropped: INF Will Wilson to the IL with a fractured thumb. Wilson’s injury designation is backdated to April 30, meaning he’s been dealing with this since Thursday’s off-day. Wilson has been providing backup at third base while Brendan Donovan has been on the IL, but Donovan is set to begin a rehab assignment this Tuesday with the Arkansas Travelers in preparation to meet the team in Chicago at the beginning of their next roadtrip. This does leave the Mariners shorthanded on the utility infielder side until Donovan is back, however, meaning a steady dose of at third base unless the Mariners make another move after the game. If they did want to fill the infielder hole, the options are slim: is on the 40-man but limited to second base, where has staked a claim; Brock Rodden has positional flexibility, but would require a 40-man move. The other option is bringing up Colt Emerson, but unless the Mariners view the situation as truly dire, it feels unlikely that they’d summon him just for a brief fill-in. No news from the Mariners yet as to what the issue is with Raleigh; this story will be updated.

Q&A

What happened to Cal Raleigh's status for the Mariners game?

Cal Raleigh has been removed from the lineup for Saturday's game, but the reason for his absence has not been disclosed.

Why was Will Wilson placed on the IL?

Will Wilson was placed on the IL due to a fractured thumb, with his injury backdated to April 30.

Who is replacing Will Wilson in the Mariners' lineup?

Jhonny Pereda is stepping in as the starting catcher for the Mariners in place of Cal Raleigh.

Cal Raleigh out of Saturday’s lineup, Jhonny Pereda up; Will Wilson to IL with fractured thumb

TL;DR

Key points

Q&A

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