Robbie Ray Heads To The West Coast On Long-Term Deal

And down goes the last true ace. Cy Young winner Robbie Ray has agreed to a 5-year, $115M contract with the Seattle Mariners.

Extremely similar to the 5-year, $110M deal that Kevin Gausman just received from Ray's former team, the Toronto Blue Jays, Ray is the first big splash for the Mariners on the free agent market.. But is not expected to be the last.

Ray has an opt-out after the 3rd season, according to Jeff Passan.

Ray finally realized in 2021 the big-time upside his talent had promised for years. Ray was unflappable as the ace of the 91-win Blue Jays, registering a 13-7 record with a 2.48 ERA, 248 strikeouts, and an astonishing K/9 of 11.5.

Ray had bet on himself in 2021, signing a one year, $8M contract with Toronto, coming off an ugly 6.62 ERA in 2020.

The bet has paid off big-time now for Ray. $115M big.

As for the Blue Jays, their $31M spent on three players last offseason, as noted by Toronto beat reporter Shi Davidi, has paid off more than ten-fold for those players.

The Blue Jays paid Marcus Semien ($18m), Robbie Ray ($8m) and Steven Matz ($5.2m) a total of $31.2m last season. As FAs, they signed contracts worth a combined $334m.
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) November 29, 2021