Mariners sign catcher Cal Raleigh to six-year contract extension ahead of Opening Day
By Jeffrey Nooney, edited by Charles Hamaker
Seattle, WA - Breaking news! Jeff Passan of ESPN dropped one of his infamous “Passan Bombs” by reporting that our Seattle Mariners and Cal Raleigh have agreed to a multi-year extension just two days before Opening Day. The deal is reportedly worth $105,000,000 over the next six years, starting this year. This deal buys out three years of free agency for Cal, and this marks the start of hopefully a number of contract extensions for the team including battery mate Logan Gilbert. With incentives, the deal could push up to $123M and futures a full no-trade clause, per sources. Cal has made it known publicly and privately that he loves being in Seattle and playing as a Mariner, so it seemed like an obvious decision to get the backstop extended long-term and that happens today.
Cal Raleigh, nicknamed “Big Dumper,” is very so often the heartbeat of this team. Yes, Julio Rodríguez is the superstar for the Mariners, but this is Cal’s team. Cal is coming off of a career season for the Mariners, which saw him earn the Rawlings Platinum Glove award, given to the league’s best defensive player, no matter the position on top of the Gold Glove award he received for the catcher position in the American League. He also hit .220/.312/.436/.748 with an OPS+ of 119, smashing 34 home runs, and drove in 100 RBIs while finishing 12th an A.L. MVP voting. It’s no secret to anybody that follows the Mariners or is close to the team that Raleigh is incredibly value to Seattle, whether it’s his durability behind the plate, how he handles the franchises historic pitching staff, his drive to improve year-in and year-out, his power at the plate, or his leadership in the clubhouse. Cal is a vital part of the Mariners and keeping him is a huge win for a Seattle franchise that hasn’t had a lot of those in their difficult and often frustrating existence.
Getting Cal locked should have always been a top priority for this front office, and it’s somewhat surprising that they finally got this thing done and did so at this point in the offseason. Sources told Circling Seattle Sports that Raleigh has made it known to the franchise that he’d love to be in Seattle for the long-term, but as of this month he had not been approached about an extension. While it’s been made known by Cal after the 2023 season that he’s frustrated with their lack of moves, even if he made an apology the day after and the franchise hasn’t done too much to add key talent to their roster since, Raleigh enjoys the Pacific Northwest despite being born on the opposite side of the country and loves being a Mariner. An interesting part of this process was back in November when Raleigh fired his then Agent Scott Boras. Boras is notorious for not letting his clients sign contract extensions because he wants them to get to free agency as fast as they can. Boras is a tough negotiator, and has negotiated some of the biggest contracts in all of baseball. Once Cal switched agents, there was some smoke as to whether he would sign a long term extension and especially so because Boras hasn’t seemed too keen to get his clients to the Mariners with how tight for money they’ve acted.
Cal is one of the very best catchers in all of baseball, and this contract proves just that. In terms of Annual Average Salary (AAV), Cal’s new deal ranks third among active catchers, behind J.T. Realmuto of the Philadelphia Phillies and Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals. For context, Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk signed a five year, $54,000,000 deal last week, while Cal’s six year, $105,000,000 almost doubles that deal and rightfully so given Raleigh’s production and value to this franchise as a player that Seattle has seen come along since drafting him in the 3rd round of the 2018 draft.
Over the past week, the Mariners have released Mitch Haniger while eating all of his $15,500,000 owed to him this season. In the past, that was something the Mariners never would do, but with Haniger struggling in 2024, and with nowhere for this to play regularly including a shoulder injury suffered this Spring, they cut ties with him. Ownership and the front office seemingly sent a clear message that they will not let money dictate who will be on the roster, which is a great sign for the future as money has obviously been a hot topic among the fanbase surrounding this franchise. Releasing Mitch Haniger meant that Rowdy Tellez will make the team, which he earned with a hot start in Spring Training as Seattle seems to be doing a lot of the right things this past week. Cutting ties with Haniger and his bad contract, adding Rowdy Tellez to the opening day roster, the new ROOT Sports app to make games more accessible, and Raleigh’s big new extension are all positives for a Mariners organization that has done plenty to anger their fans over the years.
With the reports that the Mariners only had about $15,000,000 to spend this offseason and little done in that way to add any impact to the lineup over the winter, it becomes obvious that ownership was willing to open up their pocket book with the Cal Raleigh extension. Is this a sign of things to come? Only time will tell. The pitching rotation will get expensive over the next few years with Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo and Bryce Miller all being deserving of extensions as they make up that historic group that has carried the roster in the last few years. Either way, this is good news for the team and for its fans. It shows an investment in the team, its best players, and its fans. Cal Raleigh is a Mariner for the next six years, and I can’t wait to be here to be a part of it.
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