During an offseason in which they intended to spend more than in years, but hadn’t seemed to find many players wanting to take their money, the Seattle Mariners on Monday finally joined Major League Baseball’s free-agent frenzy of the past three days by adding the reigning American League Cy Young winner to their starting rotation.
MLB sources confirmed a report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan that the Mariners had reached an agreement on a five-year, $115 million contract with left-hander Robbie Ray.
An official announcement on the signing could come as soon as Tuesday afternoon. Sources said Ray was flying to Seattle on Monday evening and would undergo a physical on Tuesday morning before signing a contract that includes an opt-out clause after three years and also other bonuses.
Ray, who turned 30 on Oct. 1, posted a 13-7 record with a 2.84 ERA in 32 starts. In 193 1/3 innings pitched, he racked up 248 strikeouts with only 52 walks with a 1.045 WHIP (walks plus hits over innings pitched). Per Fangraphs’ wins above replacement, his 3.9 WAR was sixth most in AL starters. His 32 starts tied for most in the AL while he led the league in innings pitched, ERA, strikeouts and WHIP.
Ray was almost a unanimous selection for the Cy Young award, garnering 29 of 30 first-place votes.
This story will be updated.