Mariners Select Cal Raleigh, Recall Donovan Walton

OF Taylor Trammell optioned to Triple-A Tacoma, LHP Yusei Kikuchi placed on Injured List

SEATTLE, Wash. — Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today the following roster moves:

· Cal Raleigh (#29), C, selected from Triple-A Tacoma.

· Donovan Walton, INF, recalled from Triple-A Tacoma.

· Taylor Trammell, OF, optioned to Triple-A Tacoma (post-game July 10).

· Yusei Kikuchi, LHP, placed on Injured List.

Seattle’s Major League, 40-man, roster remains at 40 players.

Raleigh, 24, will make his Major League debut when he first appears in a game. The switch-hitting catcher is rated as the #6 prospect in the Mariners organization by MLB Pipeline and #8 by Baseball America.

In 44 games with Triple-A Tacoma this season, Raleigh is batting .324 (57x176) with 34 runs scored, 21 doubles, 1 triple, 9 home runs, 36 RBI, 3 stolen bases and 14 walks. He had a 23-game hitting streak from May 15-June 17, batting .396 (38x96) with 22 runs, 13 doubles, 1 triple, 6 home runs, 22 RBI and 6 walks during the streak.

Raleigh was selected by the Mariners in the 3rd round of the 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Florida State University in Tallahassee. In 203 career minor league games across 3 seasons (2018–19, ’21), he is batting .274 (213x777) with 123 runs, 56 doubles, 2 triples, 46 home runs, 147 RBI, 8 stolen bases and 79 walks. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound catcher was named 1st-team All-ACC in his junior season at Florida State, batting .326 (75x230) with 13 home runs and 54 RBI in 62 games with the Seminoles.

Walton, 27, was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on June 30 after being recalled on June 22. He has spent 3 stints with Seattle this season, from April 13–14, May 14-June 12 and June 22–30. In 21 games with Seattle this season, he’s hit .206 (13x63) with 6 runs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 7 RBI and 4 walks. In 21 games with the Rainiers this season, he’s hit .298 (25x84) with 8 runs, 6 doubles, 1 home run, 17 RBI and 5 walks.

The former Oklahoma State University Cowboy has appeared in parts of 4 minor league seasons in the Mariners organization, batting .284 (405x1425) with 219 runs, 78 doubles, 9 triples, 25 home runs, 160 RBI, 169 walks and 35 stolen bases in 379 games. Walton was the Mariners 5th round selection in the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Walton made his Major League debut with the Mariners on Sept. 10, 2019 against the Cincinnati Reds as a defensive replacement.

Trammell, 23, was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on June 1. He made his Major League debut with the Mariners on Opening Day (April 1) vs. San Francisco. In 2 stints with Seattle this season, Trammell is batting .160 (25x156) with 23 runs, 7 doubles, 8 home runs, 18 RBI, 2 stolen bases and 17 walks in 51 games. He was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma on May 13 and was recalled by Seattle on June 1.

With Tacoma this season, Trammell batted .384 (28x73) with 11 runs scored, 7 doubles, 6 home runs, 19 RBI, 3 stolen bases, 3 walks, a .413 on-base percentage, a .726 slugging percentage (1.139 OPS) in 17 games.

Trammell was originally selected by Cincinnati in the 1st round (35th overall) of the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Mount Paran Christian School (GA). He was traded to the Padres as part of a 3-team trade on July 31, 2019. The 6-foot-2, 213-pound outfielder was acquired by the Mariners from San Diego on Aug. 31, 2020, along with Ty France (inf), Andres Munoz (rhp) and Luis Torrens © in exchange for Austin Nola ©, Austin Adams (rhp) and Dan Altavilla (rhp). Overall, he has appeared in parts of 5 minor league seasons with Cincinnati (2016–19), San Diego (2019) and Seattle (2021), batting .275 (4447x1625) with 262 runs, 71 doubles, 24 triples, 39 home runs, 214 RBI, 222 walks and 113 stolen bases in 443 minor league games.

Kikuchi, 30, is 6–4 with a 3.48 ERA (38 ER, 98.1 IP) in 16 starts for the Mariners this season with 34 walks and 98 strikeouts. The left-hander was named to the American League All-Star team, his first Major League All-Star nod after being named a Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star 3 times (2013, ’17–18). He is the 14th Japanese-born MLB All-Star and 5th to make it in a Mariners uniform.

In his last 12 starts, Yusei is 6–3 with a 2.77 ERA (23 ER, 74.2 IP), walking 25 and striking out 78 since April 29. In his last 5 starts, he is 3–1 with a 2.27 ERA (8 ER, 31.2 IP), walking 14, striking out 29 and holding opponents to a .196 batting average in that stretch. His 11 quality starts this season are tied with Clayton Kershaw-LAD and Robbie Ray-TOR for most by a left-handed pitcher.

Kikuchi made his Major League debut with the Mariners at the Tokyo Dome on March 21, 2019, becoming the first Japanese-born player to make his MLB debut on Japanese soil. In 57 career starts, Yusei is 14–19 with a 4.78 ERA (163 ER, 307.0 IP) with 104 walks and 261 strikeouts.