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Seattle Mariners

Mariners sign catcher Cal Raleigh to massive extension

The Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh could earn up to $123 million with his contract extension.  (Tribune News Service)
By Ryan Divish Seattle Times

With opening day of the 2025 season on Thursday, the Seattle Mariners made sure their catcher and conscience of their team will be with them for years to come.

Cal Raleigh has signed a six-year, $105 million contract extension to stay in Seattle, multiple MLB sources close to the situation confirmed Tuesday.

Raleigh, 28, was in the process of taking a physical before signing the contract that also includes a vesting option for a seventh year and could push it to $123 million. He also has a full no-trade clause for the entirety of the deal.

Selected in the third round of the 2018 draft out of Florida State, Raleigh has developed into a foundational player for the Mariners and is on an accelerated path to being the best catcher in franchise history … if he isn’t already.

Last season, he posted a .220/.312/.436 slash line with 16 doubles, 34 homers, 100 RBI, 70 walks and 176 strikeouts. It was the second straight season he’d hit more than 30 homers.

Over his last three seasons, he’s posted a .222/.303/.457 slash line with while averaging 20 doubles, a triples, 30 homers and 79 RBI. He’s also led MLB catchers in homers each of the last three years. Only Mike Piazza achieved that accomplishment.

Behind the plate, he was the best in the American League. He was named the American League Gold Glove and American League Platinum Glove.

Raleigh led MLB in games caught (135) and innings caught (1,122). But his performance was about more than just quantity. He provided an elite level of quality while behind the plate. For the second straight season, he led MLB in catcher caught stealing, throwing out 26 runners on stolen base attempts. Since the stat was tracked, only Raleigh, Jim Sundberg (1975-76) and Hall of Famer Gary Carter (1982-83) have led MLB in back-to-back seasons.

He led the American League in FanGraphs defensive runs above average (23.9), catcher framing (13) and MLB Statcast’s fielding run value above 100 (14) while tying for the lead for defensive runs saved (16).

Raleigh joins Julio Rodriguez, Andrés Muñoz and Luis Castillo as players on the current roster to sign long-term contract extensions to stay with the organization.