Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh and manager Dan Wilson have each been selected as finalists for two of MLB’s most prestigious awards.

This is a big week for the Seattle Mariners and Jorge Polanco’s future

Raleigh was named as one of three finalists for the American League MVP and Wilson as one of three finalists for AL Manager of the Year during an MLB Network broadcast on Monday.

Raleigh was nominated alongside New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Cleveland Guardians third baseman José Ramírez.

The 28-year-old catcher is coming off a record-setting year in which helped the Mariners win their first AL West title and reach their first AL Championship Series in 24 years. He mashed 60 home runs, becoming just the seventh player in MLB history to reach the historic mark. In the process, he broke Mickey Mantle’s home run record for switch-hitters (54) and Salvador Perez’s for catchers (48). He also became the first player to hit 20 home runs from each side of the plate in a single season.

Raleigh slashed .247/.359/.589 with a .948 OPS, 161 wRC+ and an AL-leading 125 RBIs over 159 games this season. His 9.1 fWAR was the second most of any AL player, trailing only Judge’s 10.1.

The last Mariner to win AL MVP was Ichiro Suzuki in 2001.

While Ramírez is included in the race, it’s widely known to be a two-man showdown between Raleigh and Judge.

New York’s slugging outfielder led MLB in all three triple-slash categories at .331/.457/.688 with a 1.114 OPS, 53 home runs and 114 RBIs. No other AL player had an OPS of 1.000. His 204 wRC+ was also 38 points higher than the next AL batter.

Judge has a clear advantage over Raleigh in just about every offensive category outside of home runs and RBI, but Raleigh’s case carries the argument of playing a premium defensive position and having an unmeasurable impact as an everyday catcher. Raleigh, who logged 1,072 innings behind the plate in 2025, played nearly 250 more innings in the field than Judge (822 1/3 innings).

Wilson, who took over in late August 2024, went 21-13 in the team’s remaining 34 games last season. This year, the Mariners finished the regular season with a record of 90-72, with Wilson becoming the first manager in club history to take the team to the postseason or win a division title in his first full season.

Wilson is joined by former Mariners bullpen coach and reigning AL Manager of the Year Stephen Vogt of the Cleveland Guardians and Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider as finalists for manager of the year.

Wilson is vying to join two-time winner and fellow Mariners Hall of Famer Lou Piniella (1995 and 2001) as the only managers in club history to win the award.

The MVP and manager of the year awards are voted on by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The winners will be announced Nov. 13 at 3 p.m. on MLB Network.

Seattle Sports Mariners insider Shannon Drayer contributed to this story. 

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