*Photo from Yahoo! Sports*
One of the best and most revitalized starting pitchers in baseball is on his way to the West Coast. The Seattle Mariners and LHP Robbie Ray have agreed to a 5 year, $115 million deal, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Mariners have confirmed the signing, as Ray has passed his physical.
In the contract, Ray gets an opt out after the 2023 season, so he could hit the market again in two years time. Also in the first two years of the deal is a full no trade clause for Ray. After those two years, he gets an assignment bonus if he is in fact traded. Ray will get $23 million per season after earning $8 million last year after signing a one year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto said of signing Ray that "This is more or less getting in line with the times. When you are signing players of this ilk or accomplishment, you have to be willing to accept the fact that this is part of today's game. It might not have been as common 10 years ago, but it is becoming increasingly more common. We thought we would rather provide that than lose the chance of having Robbie Ray."
Like some free agents, Ray was prepared to be unsigned as the CBA expired and the lockout began on December 1 at 11:59 PM. However, so many free agents had signed before then, and Ray had noticed that the Mariners had real interest in him, and he had real interest in them. So, they pushed together, in an attempt to come up with a deal before the lockout began, which was successful.
In a Blue Jays uniform last season, Ray won the AL Cy Young after a career year. Ray had a 13-7 record with a 2.84 ERA and 1.04 WHIP, both AL leading numbers. He struck out a whopping 248 hitters while throwing an AL leading 193 1/3 innings, starting 32 games for the Blue Jays, who missed the playoffs by one game last year.
Across 8 seasons split between 3 different teams, Ray has a lifetime 62-58 record with a 1.32 WHIP and an even 4.00 ERA, making one all star game while striking out 1,290 hitters, throwing 1,035 2/3 innings, starting 189 games and making 4 relief appearances for the Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Blue Jays. In one start and two relief appearances in the playoffs, Ray is 0-2 with 6 earned runs in 9 2/3 innings.
Ray was excited to join the Mariners, saying that "They're pushing the envelope. They're working hard to maximize every pitcher’s output, and for me, I think what was the main thing was that it's not just like a cookie-cutter thing. It's not one size fits all. They’re so focused on each individual pitcher and maximizing that person's potential, and that's what kind of sold me."
Before rebounding in 2021, his 2020 season was a struggle, sandwiched by a trade to Toronto at the trade deadline. His 6.62 ERA and career high 17.9 percent walk rate forced Ray to make changes to his delivery after taking the one year deal from the Blue Jays. Ray added more of a turn to his delivery, hearkening back to what he used in the minor leagues. That gave him a more consistent release point, which led to more swings and misses.
With the Mariners, Ray immediately becomes the staff ace of a mostly young rotation, with longtime Mariner Marco Gonzales likely the number two. Chris Flexen and Logan Gilbert also figure to be rotation locks, with one vacant starter spot available. They could opt to sign another pitcher when the lockout ends, or they could give the spot to top pitching prospects Matt Brash and Brandon Williamson.
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