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The Seattle Mariners are backing up the dump truck for the Big Dumper.
The Mariners are giving catcher Cal Raleigh a six-year, $105 million contract extension, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Passan says the contract starts this season and buys out the first three years of Raleigh’s free agency.
Raleigh made $795,000 last year as a pre-arbitration player, which means he had to accept with the team would pay him. This year he was set to make $5.6 million after signing a 1-year deal with the Mariners in January to avoid arbitration. His new contract will supersede the previous 1-year deal and keep him under contract through 2030. Raleigh would not be eligible for free agency now until 2031.
Raleigh has been a slugger for the Mariners over the past three seasons. Though he only batted .220 last year, he whacked 34 home runs and drove in 100 while posting a .748 OPS. Raleigh finished 18th in AL MVP voting in 2023 and 12th in AL MVP voting last season. He also won the Gold Glove last year, which was his first such honor.
His defensive play has been gaining more and more notoriety. He has gone 9/9 on challenges in spring training this year.
