Luke Raley keeps grounded approach, looking to stick with Rays

Luke Raley is doing his best to balance two extremes. The 2013 Highland graduate, now in his second season with the Tampa Bay Rays, has to maintain the patience and calmness needed to succeed in Major League Baseball while also knowing his opportunities to stick in the big leagues are growing thin. "It needs to happen soon where I break through or it might not ever happen," Raley said Wednesday in a phone interview from St. Petersburg, Fla., where the Rays are training at Tropicana Field, also their regular-season home. "It does put pressure on me, but I always come back to the same thing: All I can control is how I play the game and how I go about my business. I can't put myself in the starting lineup or guarantee I'm going to get a hit. I just try to play hard and show them I'm able to compete at this level." An outfielder/first baseman/designated hitter, the 28-year-old Raley is projected to open the regular season as a backup with the Rays, who are expected to start Yandy Diaz at first, Harold Ramirez at DH and Randy Arozarena, Manuel Margos and Jose Siri in the outfield. All are right-handed hitters. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Raley, a left-handed hitter who already has two home runs this spring, is out of minor league options, so he could opt to become a free agent if the Rays designate him for assignment at some point, which would allow him to sign with any team. "I try not to assess anything because it means nothing," he said. "I'll kill myself — and I've done it in the past — if I think about all the possible scenarios." Raley, who will turn 29 on Sept. 19, has more than himself to be concerned about these days. He got engaged to Avon Lake native Katie Mihalik, a second-grade teacher in Westlake, on Oct. 29. Their wedding is set for Dec. 29. The couple met online in 2020 when Raley was back in Ohio because the coronavirus pandemic had canceled his Triple-A season. They eventually met in person, went out several times and clicked, with Mihalik now spending as much time as possible in Tampa over the summer, when she doesn't have to teach. "I've always wanted to be in the big leagues, especially now with her and wanting to start a family," Raley said. "I want to make as much money as I can with the time I'm able to play. Baseball is an age-demanding sport. Not many guys make it to 35, let alone 40, so I'm not really that far from the end of my career. The early half is gone. I'm living on the back half now. "It's something I think about, but she's extremely supportive. She wants me to do what makes me happy, and I want her to teach because it makes her happy. She does a good job of keeping stuff off my plate so I can concentrate on what I have to do and try to make things better for our future." In two MLB seasons — one with the Los Angeles Dodgers and one with the Rays — Raley has hit .189 with three home runs, eight RBIs and 12 runs scored but has struck out 49 times in 127 career at-bats. Last season with the Rays he hit .197 with one homer, four RBIs and seven runs scored while posting a .306 on-base percentage. Those numbers aren't what Raley wants, but he doesn't have anything left to prove at the Triple-A level, having hit .298 with 40 home runs and 140 RBIs in 168 games over three seasons. That productivity likely will earn him another chance or two should things not work out with the Rays, but what Raley really wants is a prolonged opportunity in the big leagues. "That's what we all strive for, to be one of the main guys where you're playing pretty consistently in the big leagues," he said. "Unfortunately, that's not always the case for everybody. Even if I stick in a limited role, through injuries and productivity I could work my way into the starting lineup. "I try not to think about what I want to happen because it doesn't always work out that way, but I'm getting to that point where I need to break into the big leagues for good." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on Twitter.