Mariners' Luke Raley: Comes to life in spring finale

Raley went 2-for-3 with a three-run double and a triple in a Cactus League tie with the Cubs on Sunday.

Raley's acquisition in the early-January Jose Caballero trade to the Rays was lauded at the time, given the 29-year-old's positional versatility and the fact he was coming off the best season of his career at the plate in 2023. However, an utterly forgettable start to Cactus League play that saw Raley go 1-for-23 over his first 10 exhibitions was the source of plenty of frustration. Nevertheless, Raley's bat came around over the latter portion of the Mariners' spring training slate, as he finished 6-for-17 with Sunday's two-bagger, triple and three RBI over his last six contests. Jesus Cano of MLB.com reports that Raley is expected to have a key reserve role this season and serve as a left-handed source of power, and he adds that manager Scott Servais never lost confidence in the offseason acquisition despite the early struggles. "He's really strong," Servais said. "You can see it even when he just misses them. He hits them high and he's going to be more consistent. I thought his at-bats were really good today."