# Luke Raley

Lucas John Raley (born September 19, 1994) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays.

## Amateur career

Raley graduated from Highland High School in Medina, Ohio. He was named to the Ohio All-State Baseball Team as a senior. After going undrafted out of high school, he enrolled at Lake Erie College, where he played college baseball. In 2014, he briefly played collegiate summer baseball for the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League. As a junior at Lake Erie, he hit .424 with 12 home runs, 39 RBIs, and a .528 on-base percentage in 47 games. After his junior year, he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the seventh round of the 2016 MLB draft, and he signed for $150,000.

## Professional career
### Los Angeles Dodgers

After signing, Raley was assigned to the Arizona League Dodgers for one week, where he hit .625 in five games. He was promoted to the Ogden Raptors on June 27. After batting .417 in five games in one week with Ogden, he was promoted again to the Great Lakes Loons on July 7. He finished 2016 with Great Lakes batting .245 with two home runs and 17 RBIs in 56 games. Raley was promoted again to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes for the 2017 season, slashing .295/.375/.473 with 14 home runs and 62 RBIs in 123 games. He was a California League All-Star that season. He began 2018 with the Tulsa Drillers and was selected to the Texas League All-Star Game.

### Minnesota Twins

On July 31, 2018, Raley was traded to the Minnesota Twins, with prospects Devin Smeltzer and Logan Forsythe, for former All-Star Brian Dozier. Raley played for the Chattanooga Lookouts for the remainder of 2018. In 120 Double-A games with Tulsa and Chattanooga, he hit .275 with 20 home runs and 69 RBIs. He spent 2019 with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, playing in only 33 games due to a left ankle injury. He was productive when he could play, hitting .302/.362/.516 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs. He played for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League after the 2019 season. Raley was added to the Twins 40-man roster on November 20.

### Los Angeles Dodgers (second stint)

On February 10, 2020, the Twins traded Raley, Brusdar Graterol, and the 66th pick in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft to the Dodgers for Kenta Maeda, Jaír Camargo, and cash considerations. Raley did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but he did play at the Dodgers alternate training site.
On April 9, 2021, Raley was promoted to the major leagues for the first time. He made his MLB debut that night as a defensive replacement in right field in the eighth inning. In his first at-bat, he grounded out to first base against Sam Clay of the Washington Nationals. His first career hit came on April 14, an opposite-field double against Daniel Bard of the Colorado Rockies. On April 16, Raley hit his first career home run off of a slider from Dan Altavilla of the San Diego Padres. He appeared in 33 games for the Dodgers during the season, hitting .182 with two home runs and four RBI. His second MLB home run was the longest for the Dodgers that season, traveling 472 feet at Coors Field on September 22. He was called up by the Dodgers seven different times during 2021. He also appeared in 72 games for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers, hitting .294 with 19 homers and 69 RBI. He struck out in his lone at-bat in the Wild Card Game, his first postseason appearance.

### Tampa Bay Rays

On March 18, 2022, Raley was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for pitcher Tanner Dodson. Raley began the 2022 season with the Durham Bulls, where he batted .299/.374/.575 with 7 home runs and 25 RBIs in 24 games. He was promoted to the major league roster on June 21, 2022, following injuries to Kevin Kiermaier and Manuel Margot. Raley finished the year playing in 22 games, hitting .197 with one home run.
Raley made the major league team out of Spring Training, in part because he was out of minor league options. Raley played regularly for the Rays, slashing .249/.333/.490 with 19 home runs and 49 RBIs in 118 games before suffering an injury on a collision during batting practice on September 16 that limited him to just one more at bat for the season. One of his home runs was an inside-the-park shot on August 16 that bounced off the walls of Oracle Park in San Francisco several times before rolling away from fielders. The Rays avoided having Raley face left-handed pitchers, though he hit .268 in his 41 at bats against lefties, albeit with worse patience and power.

### Seattle Mariners

On January 5, 2024, the Rays traded Raley to the Seattle Mariners for José Caballero. Raley mostly matched his 2023 production in more playing time, slashing .243/.320/.463 in 137 games for the Mariners in 2024. He fared worse against lefties, batting .182 with a .570 OPS in 82 plate appearances.

## Personal life

Raley is married to Katie Mihalik. She gave birth to their first child in February 2025.