The Seattle Mariners spent big to guarantee that Gold Glove catcher Cal Raleigh would remain in the Northwest for the rest of the decade.
Raleigh agreed to six-year, $105 million contact extension Tuesday that will take him at least through the 2030 season. The deal, negotiated by Excel Sports Management, bought out three years of arbitration eligibility and three years of free agency.
The Mariners made Raleigh the fifth catcher in major league history to sign a nine-figure contract, joining Joe Mauer, Buster Posey, Will Smith and J.T. Realmuto.
Raleigh’s deal comes with an average annual value of $17.5 million. Only Philadelphia’s Realmuto ($23 million) and Kansas City’s Salvador Perez ($20.5 million) have higher AAVs on their current contracts, and both can become free agents this winter. Realmuto is represented by Creative Artists Agency.
Raleigh was in the process of taking a physical exam when the extension was finalized, according to the Seattle Times, as the Mariners prepare for the regular-season opener at home against the Athletics on Thursday.
Raleigh is the latest of the Mariners’ foundation pieces to make a long-term commitment, joining center fielder Julio Rodriguez, right-hander Luis Castillo and closer Andres Munoz as the Mariners look to take the next step in an AL West that has been dominated by Houston and Texas in recent seasons.
Rodriguez signed a 12-year, $203 million extension midway through his breakout rookie 2022 season and is under contract through 2034. Castillo is playing on a five-year, $105 million extension he signed after being acquired by the Mariners at the 2022 trade deadline.
Munoz signed a team-friendly four-year, $7.5 million deal in 2022 that includes three teams options that could keep with in Seattle through 2028.
The Mariners’ next considerations are the young pitchers that comprise what many consider the best starting rotation in the majors – Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo. Gilbert has two years of arbitration remaining and Kirby has three. Miller and Woo are a season away.
Raleigh’s signing is not without some background.
In attempting to explain the franchise’s long-term strategy, general manager Jerry Dipoto told reporters after the Mariners missed the playoffs in 2023 — the year Texas won the World Series — that teams that win 54 percent of the time are consistent winners and have a great chance to make the postseason.
His point was misconstrued by many, and fans took that to mean that the Mariners were not shooting high enough. Raleigh reacted.
“We’ve got to commit to winning, we have to commit to going and getting those players you see other teams going out (to get),” Raleigh said at the time. “Going for it, getting big-time pitchers, getting big-time hitters. We have to do that to keep up.”
The Mariners fell just short again in 2024, when a late-season surge pushed then to 85-77 but one game short of the final American League wild card berths claimed by Kansas City and Detroit (both 86-76).
Consider the commitment kept, as Raleigh has firmly established himself as a core component. He set career highs with 34 homers, 100 RBIs and a 4.7 WAR while starting 125 games behind the plate last season, the most in the majors at his position. He caught 32 runners attempting to steal, highest in the league, and also led the AL in defensive runs above average (23.9), according to FanGraphs.
Raleigh has led major league catchers in homers in each of the last three seasons — moving incrementally from 27 to 30 to 34. Mike Piazza is the only other catcher to have done that.
Raleigh’s deal is back-loaded, the Mariners’ structuring it so that more is due after Castillo’s contract expires.
Raleigh is to receive a $10 million bonus and a $1 million salary in 2025, $11 million in 2026 and $12 million in 2027, according major league sources cited by the Times. He is scheduled to earn $23 million in 2028, 2029 and 2030. He has a $20 million vesting option for 2031 with a $2 million buyout.
The Dodgers’ Will Smith has the most lucrative contract among active catchers. He signed a 10-year, $140 million extension at almost exactly this time last year, as a spring training concluded.
Realmuto’s $115 million contract signed in 2021 was the largest among active catchers until then. Mauer still owns the largest contract awarded a catcher, the eight-year, $184 million deal he signed with Minnesota in 2011.