3 More Bold Moves Mariners Must Make To Follow Josh Naylor Signing

Step one, done.

The Seattle Mariners accomplished their self-professed top objective for this offseason by re-signing first baseman Josh Naylor. Jeff Passan of ESPN reports it's a five-year deal for Naylor and Seattle, and while we still don't have exact figures, Ari Alexander of 7 News Boston reports it's worth between $90-100 million.

So knowing that the Mariners came within a single game of the World Series with Naylor, what else can they do to put themselves over the hump? Here are some bold moves we feel Seattle must make this winter.

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Trade SP Luis Castillo

Bringing back Naylor is awesome, but it probably leaves the Mariners without the flexibility, as things stand right now, to make more big signings. Even if Naylor's deal is worth $90 million, we can estimate that adding $18 million to the payroll only leaves them about $10-12 million more to work with.

So let's free up as much of Castillo's $24 million salary this season as some team is willing to take, and hopefully grab a couple of intriguing prospects while we're at it. The Mariners are one of very few teams who can survive the loss of a three-time All-Star pitcher, and they should use it to their advantage.

Sign free-agent third baseman Kazuma Okamoto

The Mariners will be linked to another Japanese star this winter, Munetaka Murakami. Okamoto is a few years older, but he should be cheaper, and he also complements the Mariners in several ways that Murakami doesn't.

Okamoto is right-handed, which would create better lineup balance with Naylor's return, and also replace Eugenio Suárez with a more consistent contact bat. The 29-year-old had just 36 strikeouts in 77 games in the NPB this season, to go with an impressive .992 OPS.

And more importantly, with the savings we just secured by trading away Castillo, the Mariners should be able to afford Okamoto, trust former top prospect Cole Young to play second base in the wake of Jorge Polanco, and spend some money on the bullpen. Which leads us to...

Sign left-handed reliever Gregory Soto

Yes, Soto can be wildly inconsistent at times. But he's got the best power stuff of any lefty available in this winter's free-agent class, and if there's any team known for getting the most from its talent in the bullpen, it might be the Mariners.

It's easy to forget that Soto was a two-time All-Star closer on some bad Detroit Tigers teams this decade. He can get some big outs against lefties for the Mariners this season, and even if it costs something like $8-10 million, the Mariners can afford that now thanks to the flexibility we've provided.

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