After an offseason full of embarrassing whiffs, the Seattle Mariners finally spent some money by signing Cal Raleigh to a six-year, $105 million extension, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. Raleigh's deal covers this season and three of what would've been free agency years.
BREAKING: Catcher Cal Raleigh and the Seattle Mariners are finalizing a six-year, $105 million contract extension, sources tell ESPN. Deal starts this season and buys out three years of free agency. A huge deal to keep a franchise catcher in Seattle.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 25, 2025
While this is a pretty serious investment, Raleigh has established himself as one of, if not the best catcher in the game. Not only has Raleigh averaged 30 home runs and 97 RBI over the past three seasons despite playing half of his games at the most pitcher-friendly ballpark in the league, but he's one of MLB's premier defenders behind the plate as well. This deal is well-deserved.
It's definitely good to see the Mariners spending money, but for it to mean much, they're going to have to surround Raleigh with worthy talent. The Mariners have arguably the best starting rotation in the sport, but their lineup has consistently held them back. These dream lineups for the next two seasons could help them become serious World Series threats.
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Mariners dream lineup in 2025: Seattle is very active at trade deadline
Batting Order | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
1 | Luis Arraez | 2B |
2 | Julio Rodriguez | CF |
3 | Luis Robert Jr. | LF |
4 | Cal Raleigh | C |
5 | Randy Arozarena | DH |
6 | Luke Raley | 1B |
7 | Victor Robles | RF |
8 | Jorge Polanco | 3B |
9 | J.P. Crawford | SS |
For the Mariners to have any chance this season, they're going to have to be extremely active by this year's trade deadline. In this dream scenario, they find a way to pull off deals for both Luis Arraez and Luis Robert Jr.
I'll be the first to admit that it might be a bit outlandish to assume either, let alone both of these players end up in Seattle, but it isn't too far-fetched. Arraez is in the final year of his deal with the San Diego Padres, and the White Sox are probably likely to trade Robert by the deadline assuming he's healthy and somewhat productive.
Acquiring one or both of these players would give this Mariners lineup a major boost. The Mariners were roughly league-average in the power department last season, but had the second-worst batting average in the sport. Arraez doesn't hit for much power, isn't a good defender, and doesn't run the bases well, but he hits for average. He has won three straight batting titles. He'd be a good fit, and given his one-dimensional style of play, he might be fairly cheap to extend.
Robert gives this lineup immense upside and might come at a fairly cheap cost. Durability is a concern, but his ceiling is extremely high. He can help increase what this team can realistically accomplish in 2025.
Mariners dream lineup in 2026: Seattle makes big splash
Batting Order | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
1 | Luis Arraez | DH |
2 | Julio Rodriguez | CF |
3 | Luis Robert Jr. | RF |
4 | Cal Raleigh | C |
5 | Randy Arozarena | LF |
6 | Brandon Lowe | 2B |
7 | Luis Rengifo | 3B |
8 | Luke Raley | 1B |
9 | J.P. Crawford | SS |
As nice as it'd be to dream of the Mariners making a play for one of Vladimir Guerrero, Bo Bichette, or even Pete Alonso in free agency, they've constantly proven they're unwilling to make a big splash on the open market whether it makes too much sense or not. With that in mind, they make two smaller, but impactful moves on the open market.
Luis Rengifo is extremely versatile, both offensively and defensively. He can play just about every position on the diamond, is a switch-hitter, has two seasons in which he has hit more than 15 home runs, and just hit .300 in 2024. He's a good player, and he should represent a big upgrade over Jorge Polanco based on what we saw from Polanco in 2024. Rengifo also started his career in Seattle's organization, so he's a player Jerry Dipoto is familiar with.
The other deal sees the Mariners pull off a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays for Brandon Lowe. Whether he'll be available remains to be seen, but he'll be entering the final year of his deal assuming the Rays exercise his $11.5 million club option. Given Tampa's frugal spending history, it wouldn't be surprising to see them look to get something for a player who could easily end up departing. Lowe, like Robert, has a history of injuries, but even while he's appeared in fewer than 110 games in each of the last two seasons, he's hit 21 home runs both years. He'd improve and lengthen this lineup immensely.
This lineup might not include the influx of stars Mariners fans might be hoping for, but it's as deep of a group as they've had in quite some time. That, paired with their absurd pitching staff, should make for a fun year.