Cal Raleigh's $105M deal already ranks among Mariners' best ever contracts

It's getting hard to find new praise to heap on Cal Raleigh. Not because he's started to trend in the wrong direction — if anything, he has done the opposite. Instead, it's simply because he has just been an incredible spectacle all year.

He posted an .884 OPS with 10 home runs in the first month and hasn't looked back ever since. He did go through a slight slump after the All-Star break, but since the start of September, he's sitting at a 1.084 OPS. Whatever was holding him back now seems to be an issue of the past.

His incredible accomplishments have already been discussed at length this season. For the first time in a while, a Mariner seems to have captured the attention of the mainstream media, and has become America's sweetheart as much due to his performance on the field as his endearing personality off of it. Coupled with a truly unique nickname, and you have the sport's next big superstar.

The Mariners picked the perfect time to secure Cal Raleigh for the long haul

However, an issue that still hasn't been discussed as much by people outside of the Mariners fandom is just how much the team's decision to sign him to an extension at the start of this year has paid off.

The six-year, $105 million deal was a hefty one by any team's standards, and stands among the largest catcher contracts in MLB history. For a historically frugal team like Seattle, this made it even riskier, as a few rough years could push the front office to cut their losses preemptively. Luckily, Cal has more than done enough to prove that he's worth every penny in what may be an MVP year.

The deal has signaled a subtle but very real shift in the way that the Mariners have gone about spending money. Despite being characterized as one of the cheaper organizations in MLB, they have spent some time at the high roller table in the past.

Many of these nine-figure deals didn't quite pan out the way they had hoped such as the 10-year, $240 million deal that lured Robinson Canó out of the Bronx, Robbie Ray's five-year $115 million contract that was marred by injury, and Luis Castillo's current $108 million contract that's already looking shaky. These lukewarm results have seemingly discouraged the organization from pursuing expensive external talent in the offseason but that doesn't mean their purse strings are completely sealed.

Instead, the Mariners have given their largest deals in recent history to homegrown players who have come up through the system. The best example is Julio Rodríguez, who has continued to prove himself worthy of his lengthy extension in his fourth big-league season. Cal Raleigh was a third-round draft pick in 2018 and has become a franchise staple. Like Julio, he has gradually gotten better with every year and seems like he'll be one of the most productive players for the entirety of his deal.

This winter may be another rife with disappointment and inactivity but the front office is starting to develop a reputation of being financially tactical, not overly miserly. They may not cough up the big bucks for a Kyle Tucker or Kyle Schwarber but when they do identify a player worth pursuing like Cal Raleigh, you can bet they'll make the right move.