Seattle Extends Big Dumper for Six Years
Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners (MLB.com)
While Mariners media and fans alike have been holding their breath in anticipation of extending Logan Gilbert – the ace of the best pitching staff in the American League – this week, it’s actually his battery mate getting paid. The best catcher in baseball, Cal Raleigh, just received a $105M extension over six years. 2025 was Cal’s first arbitration season and this deal buys out the remaining three years of arbitration. The last three years included in the extension are free agent years, keeping Raleigh under contract through his age 33 season.
Contract details per Jeff Passan:
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Big Dumper is 28 years old, and coming off a Platinum Glove season as the best defender in the American League. Seattle arms love to throw to him; he’s managing the top staff in the league from behind the dish. The switch-hitting slugger’s 91 homers since the start of 2022 are easily the most in the show by any catcher – Salvador Perez is 2nd with 73. He’s had some electric moments in clutch situations over the years, from a walk-off grand slam last summer to his walk off bomb in September 2022 that gave the Mariners their first playoff berth in 21 years. Cal is the heart of this Mariners club. Jerry Dipoto and company had to find a way to get this done. We’ll provide a bit of credit to Chris Larson and John Stanton for actually spending some money on talent, though we can also credit fans for applying pressure. This is the main investment made since the Julio Rodríguez extension, and one has to think this will help in signing Logan Gilbert, as he and Cal are close friends.
2022-2024 HR Totals by Catchers (Fangraphs)
With Big Dumper locked up, I’d like to see Dan Wilson give Cal more days off than Scott Servais did. In the last two years, he’s caught 239 games, tied for the most in the MLB. While there have been some half days in the form of DH only, it’s not the same as Cal getting the full day off. He’s proven his toughness, battling through significant thumb issues and finding a way to show up every day. Even still, for his long term durability, the club needs to protect him and absolve him of the decision to sit. Even selfishly from the organization’s standpoint, he’ll catch longer if he can be kept healthy in these next few years.
Likely, Cal will eventually have to move to first base, but the bat will play as long as he continues to hit 30-35 bombs a year. In the three free agent years of the deal, he’ll be making $23M per year, which translates to a bit over 2 WAR in value. If Raleigh is catching at all, and puts up .220 with 30 HR annually, he’ll be worth $23M with ease. Will Smith got a $140M extension with the Dodgers, while Buster Posey got $167M back in 2013 and the Twins paid Joe Mauer $184M way back in 2011. To me, this is a team friendly discount that shows Cal wants to be in Seattle. Hopefully, for the sake of the game, this is an indicator that Stanton and Larson are finally starting to invest in free agent talent again. If they waste this talented core to line their pockets, it would be yet another squandered playoff window by a mid-market club. As I outlined in the Tragedy in Seattle article, there is no shortage of money being made at T-Mobile. It’s simply a matter of willingness.