Luke Raley Made Some Elite History at T-Mobile Park For Seattle Mariners in 2024
This offseason has been dreadful from the perspective of Seattle Mariners fans. After missing the playoffs by one game in 2024, the Mariners have not done anything to address their glaring holes. They have a great opportunity in front of them in the American League West and seem to be content with just being "good," as opposed to "great."
If this offseason is marked by frustration due to inactivity, last offseason was marked by frustration due to salary dumping. Over the course of last offseason, the M's traded away Marco Gonzales, Evan White, Jarred Kelenic and Eugenio Suarez. For those players, they got essentially no return on investment.
The one offseason move that did work for Seattle last year was acquiring Luke Raley from the Tampa Bay Rays for infielder Jose Caballero.
Raley put together a career-best season in 2024, hitting .243 with 22 homers and 58 RBI. Athletic and versatile, he stole 11 bases while playing first base and all over the outfield. He also joined some rare history at T-Mobile Park, a notoriously pitcher-friendly value.
Per Jordan Shusterman of Yahoo! Sports:
wild random Mariners fun fact of the day:
Luke Raley's .901 OPS at home in 2024 was the 11th-highest single-season home OPS in T-Mobile Park history (min. 200 plate appearances), and the highest since Nelson Cruz in 2017
via @Stathead
wild random Mariners fun fact of the day:
— Jordan Shusterman (@j_shusterman_) January 7, 2025
Luke Raley's .901 OPS at home in 2024 was the 11th-highest single-season home OPS in T-Mobile Park history (min. 200 plate appearances), and the highest since Nelson Cruz in 2017
via @Stathead: pic.twitter.com/rI1yhODA5P
If the Mariners are going to reach their goals in 2025, Raley will be a big part of it. He's projected to be the strong side of a platoon at first base, with Tyler Locklear likely manning the other side. However, the team could still go out and add another right-handed bat for that mix.
They've been connected to old friend Justin Turner all offseason, who is still a free agent.
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