Mariners’ Platinum Glove catcher Cal Raleigh to sign 6-year contract: reports

The Seattle Mariners are finalizing a six-year, $105 million contract extension with catcher Cal Raleigh, according to multiple reports Tuesday.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan was first to report the news.

Raleigh is the reigning American League Platinum Glove winner, having also collected his first career Gold Glove Award in 2024.

The 28-year-old has a .218 batting average, .296 on-base percentage and .444 slugging percentage in his four-year career, all with the Mariners. He has 93 home runs in his career and 251 RBIs.

In addition to his outstanding defense, Raleigh hit 34 home runs and drove in 100 runs last season for the Mariners.

It was the second consecutive season in which the player affectionately nicknamed “Big Dumper” reached the 30-homer mark. He hit 30 home runs and drove in 75 in the 2023 season, his second as the Mariners’ primary catcher. Raleigh has collected American League MVP votes each of the last two years.

A third-round draft pick by Seattle out of Florida State University in the 2018 MLB draft, Raleigh made his big league debut in 2021.

Raleigh would play 47 games that season as the primary backup to Tom Murphy, slashing .180/.223/.309 during his age-24 season. But he made big gains the following season, hitting 27 home runs and driving in 63 in 119 games for Seattle in 2022.

Now, two days before Opening Day, the Mariners have locked up their starting catcher for the next six years.

Only star center fielder Julio Rodriguez, whose 12-year, $209.3 million contract is guaranteed through the 2029 season, has a longer-term contract with the Mariners than Raleigh.

Despite playing in MLB’s most extreme pitcher-friendly ballpark, T-Mobile Park, Raleigh has hit more home runs (91) than any major league catcher over the last three seasons. Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (73) is a distant second on the list.

According to Jon Becker of FanGraphs, Raleigh’s new contract will pay him $94.4 million in new money over five years, after he agreed to a $5.6 million contract to avoid arbitration.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Raleigh’s new contract includes full no-trade protection.

According to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times, the Mariners and Raleigh hammered out the terms of the extension over the last week.

The Mariners play the Athletics on Thursday, their first official game of the 2025 regular season.

This story was originally published March 25, 2025 at 12:27 PM with the headline "Mariners’ Platinum Glove catcher Cal Raleigh to sign 6-year contract: reports."