With Monster Contract Extension For Julio Rodriguez On The Cusp, The Mariners Are Primed To Be Competitive For Years

The future is now for the Seattle Mariners.

According to multiple sources, the club is in agreement with rookie phenom Julio Rodriguiz for a massive 14-year extension that will see at least $210 million guaranteed with provisions in the contract that would enable the total to exceed over $400 million. Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com was the first to report on the deal.

The move shows that the Mariners – who have been high on Rodriguez since signing him as a prospect out of the Dominican Republic in 2017 – are willing to invest now to build a winning franchise for the future. Rodriguiz has less than one year of major league service time. He will be age 35 at the end of the reported 14-year max extension. There is risk with every long-term signing, but the Mariners are banking on wrapping up what they see as a generational player at his young age which in theory minimizes the number of years he would be in his decline performance phase.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the deal includes multiple options.

At age 21, he is currently the best player in the Mariners lineup. According to Baseball-Reference, in 108 games and 420 at-bats this season he has posted .269/.328/.471 slash line that includes 113 hits, 20 home runs, 23 stolen bases, 19 doubles, three triples, and 64 RBIs while posting a 4.3 WAR, which ranks him 10^th overall, and 7th by position players in the American League.

Becoming the everyday centerfielder for the Mariners has been fruitful, as well. Defensively, he ranks #1 in the AL for putouts by an outfielder, range factor over 9 innings as a centerfielder, to name just two.

He is the fastest player in AL history to reach the 20 home runs with 20 stolen bases milestone in AL history, doing so in just 107 games. He was selected for the 2022 All-Star Game and dazzled in the Home Run Derby taking runner-up to Juan Soto

He earned American League player of the week honors the first week in July and has earned AL Rookie of the Month honors twice this season (May and June). He is the leading candidate for AL Rookie Of The Year honors.

Beyond breaking a postseason futility record that dates back to 2001, general manager Jerry Dipoto is banking on many of the players on the roster being pieces well into the future. Besides the Rodriguez extension, several other Mariners have signed deals including the free agent signing of Robbie Ray (5 years/$115 million), J.P. Crawford (extension of 5 years/$51 million), Marco Gonzalez (extension of 4-years/$30 million with an option for 2024), and Evan White in 2020 (extension of 6 years/$24 million with options for 2026-28).

While “tanking” in the standings has become a business model across professional sports, the Mariners clearly see winning as the best way to bolster the bottom line.

According to Cot’s Contracts, a database for MLB salary information, the Mariners will have a Luxury Tax, 40-man payroll projected to be $130,973,138 for the 2022 season ranking them 22nd^{out of 30 clubs.}