ANALYSIS: Cal Raleigh's New Contract Mutually Beneficial For Him, Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners locked up one of the faces of the organization when they agreed to a six-year contract worth $105 million with Platinum Glove-winning catcher Cal Raleigh on Tuesday.
The new contract kicks in this season. The Mariners covered what would be Raleigh's second and third year of arbitration (2026-27) and three years beyond it with the contract. And the deal is favorable for both Raleigh and Seattle.
According to a tweet from ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan, Raleigh will make the most money of his contract in the final three years of the deal.
According to Passan's report, Raleigh received a $10 million signing bonus and will make $1 million in 2025. He will make $11 million in 2026, $12 million in 2027 and $23 million each season from 2028-30. There's a $20 million vesting option for 2031 based on the amount of games Raleigh plays at catcher.
Details on Cal Raleigh's extension with the Seattle Mariners, per sources:
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 25, 2025
$10 million signing bonus
2025: $1 million salary
2026: $11 million
2027: $12 million
2028: $23 million
2029: $23 million
2030: $23 million
2031: $20 million vesting player option (with $2 million buyout)
The steady growth of salary is similar to Julio Rodriguez's deal: a lower amount covering arbitration years before increasing to a higher salary in what would be free agent years. That will afford the Mariners time and flexibility to work out deals with other key players like starters Logan Gilbert and George Kirby. It also puts Raleigh in the elite tier of catchers in terms of money.
Raleigh's new contract averages out at $17.5 million a year. That is the third-highest AAV among catchers behind the Philadelphia Phillies' J.T. Realmuto ($23 million) and the Kansas City Royals' Salvador Perez ($20.5 million). Realmuto's contract ends after 2025 and Perez could become a free agent if the Royals don't exercise their club option after this year. Assuming no catcher signs a deal with a higher annual value, Raleigh contract will make him at least one of the two highest-paid catchers in the game.
And that still might have been a steal for Seattle. If Raleigh continued at the rate he was on, the Mariners would have had to pay him over $30 million from this season through 2027 in arbitration. Now they're saving in realm of $6-10 million.
The market isn't kind to catchers. But assuming Raleigh kept at his current level and played out his previous contract, he could have earned more money in arbitration and have found a better contract in free agency. But Seattle found a way to avoid a financial albatross around its neck, and Raleigh still has a contract that indicates he's one of the best at his position. Assuming he stays healthy and the Mariners can put together a perennial playoff team, it's a win-win.
The new contract also has the potential to buy goodwill with the pitching staff when it's time for extension talks with them. Having Raleigh locked in through the decade is huge for the starting rotation. It also sends a positive message to the clubhouse that Seattle wants to keep its homegrown stars. According to statements earlier in the year from Gilbert, there's already been "loose talks" on a new deal with the team.
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