The Seattle Mariners and star outfielder Julio Rodriguez have agreed to a massive contract extension that will keep the rookie phenom in Seattle through at least 2034, per reports from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, among others. The deal begins at the start of the 2023 season, meaning Seattle is replacing the last five years of Rodriguez’s rookie contract which was set to include three years of arbitration. Over the next 12 years Rodriguez is set to make $210 million with a chance to turn the extension into a monster 17-year, $300 million deal, as the contract includes a five-year, $90 million player option after the 2034 season.

https://twitter.com/Mariners/status/1563371432289087491?s=20&t=1TsHCDkwxjSrUcaMkVcfaA

Rising Star

The Mariners are a franchise with a bright future, as Rodriguez is the face of the team in just his first season. Entering the season as the top prospect in the major leagues according to MLB Pipeline, he made his highly anticipated debut April 8. After a rough first month, he has taken significant strides to propel himself into the conversation of being one of the best all-around players in baseball.

For the season, Rodriguez is sporting a .266/.328/.476/.804 slash line with a very impressive 133 OPS+, meaning he is roughly 33 percent better than the league average hitter this season. He also flashes a respectable 4.6 WAR for the season which currently ranks sixth in the American League, per statistics from Baseball Reference.

On top of his outstanding play during the regular season, the 2022 Home Run Derby is the first real impression Rodriguez made under the national spotlight. Despite falling to fellow superstar Juan Soto in the final round, he put his raw power on display and launched a derby best 81 home runs in an incredible effort at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Suffering in Seattle

It is widely known across the league that the Seattle Mariners have yet to make the playoffs since 2001. That year they set the major league record for most wins in a single season with 116, which still stands to this day. The 21 year drought is the longest current playoff drought among the four major North American sports (MLB/NFL/NBA/NHL.) To put the historic dry spell into context, Rodriguez had not even celebrated his first birthday by the time the 2001 MLB postseason had concluded. It was a stunning exit from the playoffs as the Mariners were eliminated rather quickly by the New York Yankees in a 4-1 series defeat.

All In

Attempting to end this drought, Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto has shown no hesitation to strike trades with other clubs around the league since assuming his role in 2015. There has been no exception in 2022. The two biggest trades Seattle has made thus far have both been with the Cincinnati Reds who are in the middle of a rebuilding phase that has seen them part ways with several key players. On March 14, the two clubs struck a deal that sent third baseman Eugenio Suarez and left fielder Jesse Winker to Seattle for a number of smaller pieces that went to Cincinnati. Fast forward to July 29, the teams agreed to another blockbuster that sent all-star starting pitcher Luis Castillo to Seattle for a haul of top prospects from the Mariners farm system.

Despite sacrificing much of their organizational depth in an effort to become a postseason staple, Seattle has drastically improved their big league club. They currently hold a two game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays for the second wild card spot and trail the Tampa Bay Rays by two games for the top wild card spot in the American League. With 30 games to play, the Mariners control their own destiny as ESPN gives Seattle over a 98 percent chance to make the postseason in 2022. Whether or not it happens this season remains to be seen. But leave no doubt; Julio Rodriguez and the Seattle Mariners are here to stay for a long time.