On the heels of Alejandro Kirk's five-year extension with the Toronto Blue Jays (with an AAV of $11.6 million), the Seattle Mariners have locked down their catcher of the future.
Per Jeff Passan, Cal Raleigh, 28, is signing a six-year, $105 million contract to remain in the Pacific Northwest for the long term.
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
Catcher is a notoriously thin position on offense, and two of the best bats the position has to offer are now locked up on contracts spanning a half-decade or longer.
Naturally, that'll have some consequences for teams looking to engage their own backstops in extension talks in the coming months and years. These are three catchers whose upcoming pay days just got a whole lot bigger thanks to Raleigh and Kirk.
William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers
The leader in catcher fWAR last season at 5.4, Contreras has three years of arbitration remaining (the Brewers voided the first two, including 2025, with a two-year deal). He won't hit free agency until he's 30, but you can bet your bottom dollar that Willson Contreras' young brother is going to strike it rich on a future deal.
Over the last two seasons, Contreras has been worth 11.1 fWAR (tops among all backstops), has supplied a 129 wRC+ to the middle of Milwaukee's lineup, and offered generally solid defense behind the plate.
His Savant page is mostly a sea of red (with some light blue for his defense), and he's generally regarded as one of the most well-rounded catchers in baseball.
He should have no problem surpassing the $105 million total Raleigh received, and it's not unreasonable to think he could surpass J.T. Realmuto's five-year, $115 million contract with the Phillies for the fourth-largest catcher contract ever.
Tyler Stephenson, Cincinnati Reds
Another bat-first catcher, Stephenson has a career 106 wRC+ that is severely bogged down by his dissapointing 2023 campaign. In every other season of his career, the Reds' backstop has logged a wRC+ in excess of 110.
Though his defense is lacking and he won't reach free agency until 30, Stephenson has shown to be incredibly durable behind the plate, save for the oblique strain that is threatening the start to his 2025 campaign.
His 3.0 fWAR in 2024 ranked tied for fourth among all catchers in the MLB and marked the third time in the last four years that he's been worth at least 1.5 Wins Above Replacement. He won't get the same caliber of contract as Contreras, but Sean Murphy's six-year, $73 million mark looks achievable.
Adley Rutschman, Baltimore Orioles
It's hard to believe a 26-year-old catcher can put up a season with a 104 wRC+ and 2.8 fWAR and have that be the worst campaign of his career by far, but that's the standard Rutschman has set for himself in his young career.
Yes, 2024 wasn't his best effort, but Rutschman led all catchers in fWAR from 2022-23 with 10.6, and his Savant pages from those years has to be seen to be believed.
He consistently catches 100+ contests a year, and he may be the best two-way catcher in the league right now. He's got three years of arbitration ahead of him, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Baltimore try to strike up extension talks well before that time expires.
He may not be so singular as to demand the fabled Joe Mauer contract — eight years, $184 million — that remains the gold standard at the position, but Buster Posey's $159 million deal could be the end game in negotiations between Rutschman and the Orioles.