Seattle Mariners Make Shocking Roster Decision as Luke Raley Returns From Injury
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The Seattle Mariners made a shocking decision on Friday morning, announcing that they have re-instated Luke Raley from the injured list while designating slugger Rowdy Tellez for assignment.
Mariners have brought back Luke Raley and DFA’d Rowdy Tellez pic.twitter.com/AEAQ9RVRJf
— Tim Booth (@ByTimBooth) June 20, 2025
First off, the Mariners will enjoy the benefit of having Raley back in the fold.
The 30-year-old, who was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays last offseason, has played in just 24 games this season, hitting .206 with two homers and eight RBIs. A versatile player with power, he's a big part of what the Mariners do offensively, so they'll enjoy having him back. He has been out since the end of April with a strained oblique. He hit 22 homers a season ago.
There have been questions about how the Mariners would utilize Raley upon return, and the conventional thought was that they'd send Dominic Canzone down to Triple-A and put Raley in right field. For now, it seems as if Raley will share first base with Donovan Solano and Canzone will stay as the team's right fielder.
Tellez, 30, was signed to a minor league deal this past offseason and did largely what the Mariners expected him to do. He is hitting just .208 with a .249 on-base percentage. He's hit 11 homers and posted an OPS+ of 97.
The Mariners will be back in action on Friday morning when they visit the Chicago Cubs at 11:20 a.m. PT. George Kirby will take the mound for the M's against Cubs' left-hander Matthew Boyd.
Kirby is 1-3 with an ERA approaching six since returning from the injured list.
Seattle is 37-36.
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