The Seattle Mariners locked down a key piece of their future last week, signing star Julio Rodriguez to a massive extension that could max out at $470 million. It's a very unique contract in the sense that Rodriguez has a five-year player option and a no-trade clause. Needless to say, the Mariners want to make sure he remains in the Pacific Northwest for a long time.

GM Jerry Dipoto spoke out on the process of extending their franchise cornerstone. Via The Athletic:

“The longer you wait, the least likely you’re going to get something done,” Dipoto said. “We had a willing partner. And the relationship that we’ve had with Julio Rodriguez since he was 16 years old has been phenomenal. We felt like this was the right time. Waiting a year, waiting two years … there’s a reasonable show of disrespect and once you get to the arbitration years, it’s difficult to do deals of this length and significance.”

“Once the player is close to entering the (free agent) system, they tend to drift away. The next thing you know, he’s a 26-year-old free agent and the likelihood of us bringing him back on an eight- or 10-year deal at any price has gotten far more complicated. We took a risk on the front end to allow ourselves the ability to keep him here at what we thought was a fair price.”

Julio Rodriguez is a special talent and the Mariners are very aware of it. At just 21 years old, that means he'll be in Seattle for the long haul. You don't typically see clubs sign players to long extensions like this at such a young age but he's truly a different breed.

In Rodriguez's rookie season, he's batting .264 with 21 home runs and 65 RBI while also swiping 23 bags. The Dominican is truly a five-tool player and he's already made the All-Star Game. The Mariners look poised to end their lengthy playoff drought and he's been a crucial part of their success in 2022.

The best is yet to come.