Mariners GM Makes Revealing Statement On Josh Naylor's Free Agency

When you label somebody as your No. 1 priority, you'd better quickly get to work on trying to convince them to sign.

Such was the case with the Seattle Mariners and first baseman Josh Naylor, who made a strong impact in his 2 1/2 months after arriving at the trade deadline.

Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander have both made it abundantly clear that they want Naylor back. But now that the offseason is officially in full swing, every time either of those two talks, the question will need to be asked all over again.

Mariners 'engaged' with Naylor, others

Naylor Suarez — Aug 5, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor (12) and third baseman Eugenio Suarez (28) celebrate after Suarez hit a 2-run home run against the Chicago White Sox during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

On Wednesday, Hollander took center stage again at the Major League Baseball GM meetings in Las Vegas. Though he didn't get into many specifics when asked about Naylor's free agency, he did make one thing clear: the Mariners have been engaged with Naylor, plus Eugenio Suárez and Jorge Polanco, and to some degree, the ball is currently in those players' courts.

“We’ve engaged with all of the players that were free agents on our team,” Hollander said, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. “I don’t want to get into specifics with just Josh or anybody else, but we’ve talked to the reps for everybody. I think they know how we feel, and don’t really believe in progress or no progress.

"When you get to a deal, you get to a deal, but I think everybody’s aware of where we’re at right now and that we do have interest, and we’ll just keep playing it day by day until we can get deals or have to pivot elsewhere.”

It's the stage of the offseason where players are probably still getting a feel for what teams might be in the market to sign them. And in Naylor's case, there's also the matter of which other first basemen are available, from Pete Alonso to Munetaka Murakami to possibly even Suárez, and that's all bound to impact what offers are available.

But Hollander's assurance that the Mariners are engaged, especially since he named Naylor by name, should at least let fans know that that top priority hasn't unexpectedly changed in the first two weeks of free agency.

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