Almost a year ago, Raleigh was working through the process of signing a contract extension to stay in the organization. Now? The organization continues to pay off its promises.
Back in March, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh signed a six-year, $105 million contract extension to stay with the M's.
At his press conference, Raleigh spoke about his love for the city and his love for the organization, and he showed that love all season long, hitting 60 home runs and leading the Mariners to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
A two-way street
Raleigh has certainly held up his end of the bargain as a player and a leader, but the organization has held up their end as well. Before signing, Raleigh made sure to find out if the organization was as committed to winning as he is, and trade deadline deals for Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor certainly proved it was.
And after signing Naylor again to a five-year deal worth $92.5 million this week, the front office and ownership continue to show they have goals of getting to the World Series in 2026.
What the experts are saying
We caught up with ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney on Thursday's edition of the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast to talk about the Naylor signing, and he brought up Raleigh as well:
And look, during Cal Raleigh's negotiations with the team, you know Cal's personality, he's not someone who's going to step on other people's jobs and step on their heads, but one of the questions that he was asking them was, 'okay, what's the plan for the organization going forward?'Because he wants to win, right? And after he heard what the Mariners had in mind, he signed that long-term contract. And that, to me, was such a huge step forward. Their work at the trade deadline was a huge step forward. Regardless of whether or not they went on to play in the World Series or to win the World Series, the fact is they took their shot.
They were one of the last four teams standing, and now they're following it up with a significant acquisition. Especially in this market where first basemen don't necessarily get paid in a big way, you know, to dole out 92.5 million dollars to Josh Naylor, that's a big investment. So if you are Cal Raleigh and a year ago, you're asking those questions, 'what's the direction of the franchise?' Everything that Jerry (Dipoto), Justin (Hollander), the ownership has done signals they're trying to win, and that's all you can ask for.
You can listen to the full episode in the player below:
ESPN MLB Insider Buster Olney on Naylor Signing + Skubal Trade Possibility + Felix HOF
Refuse to Lose - a Seattle Mariners Podcast · Episode
What I'm saying
I spoke about Raleigh's 'sphere of influence' within the organization on a recent episode as well:
But I believe, and we've heard, that Cal Raleigh, before he signed his extension, I think he basically said to everyone "I will do my part, Will you do yours? Will you promise me that we will go for this and make a real concerted run at trying to win a World Series?" It it's pretty well documented that Cal was what was forthright in his desire to win, and he wanted to know that the organization felt the same as he did. I think the organization kind of paying off that to him...
Again, he doesn't run the organization, but Cal's sphere of influence in the organization, I believe it to be big and I believe it to be real. So if he says "Hey part of me signing here again, part of me extending here is you proving to us this, or you proving to me that, or you backing up this," I I think that happened."
Josh Naylor is a Mariner And That's All You Need to Know
Refuse to Lose - a Seattle Mariners Podcast · Episode
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