Report: Cal Raleigh, Mariners Finalizing 6-Year, $105M Contract Extension

The Seattle Mariners and catcher Cal Raleigh are working to an agreement on a six-year, $105 million extension, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

The new deal will effectively keep Raleigh under team control for three additional seasons. He was eligible for arbitration through 2027 and would've hit free agency in 2028.

Passan provided the annual breakdown:

Raleigh's $17.5 million average salary will make him the third-highest-paid catcher in MLB behind the Philadelphia Phillies' J.T. Realmuto and Kansas City Royals' Salvador Perez.

Whenever a player signs this far out from when they can hit the open market, there's always the risk of forgoing a far bigger payday.

In the case of Raleigh, two factors gave him a strong incentive to commit now rather than waiting. Catcher is the most physically demanding position on the field, so his value when he turns 31 may not be what it is now. MLB's murky long-term outlook financially also makes it easier to take the sure thing.

Through his performance, Raleigh has certainly earned a raise. His 13.9 WAR since 2022 is the highest among all catchers, per FanGraphs. He has slugged .457 over that span and boasts a 118 OPS+, according to Baseball Reference, while giving Seattle elite defense behind the plate.

Raleigh's extension will also ease some of the concerns from fans who have called out the level of investment from ownership. Seattle hasn't had a top-10 Opening Day payroll since 2009, and it was in the bottom half of MLB for the last five seasons.

Paying Raleigh doesn't on its own mean the Mainers will become big spenders again, but it's a step in the right direction.