Mariners GM Provides More Evidence Josh Naylor's Contract Was Home Run

Oct 17, 2025; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor (12) reacts after third baseman Eugenio Suarez (not pictured) hits a grand slam against the Toronto Blue Jays in the eighth inning during game five of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

It's hard to dull the excitement around the Seattle Mariners re-signing first baseman Josh Naylor.

Earlier this week, Seattle officially inked its marquee trade deadline acquisition to a five-year, $92.5 million contract that will keep him around through 2030. It's clear Naylor wanted to be a Mariner, as he bypassed the true "hot stove" season to secure a comfortable fit for himself.

Mariners fans had to be thrilled about Naylor's deal, not only because he was great in his 2 1/2 months with the team, but because strictly in terms of market value, it was probably an underpay. But there are even more reasons to love the deal, as Seattle's general manager recently explained.

Naylor asked about Mariners' farm system... in great detail

On Tuesday, Justin Hollander went on Seattle Sports' "Wyman and Bob" show and recounted a story from the two sides' meeting after the season in which Naylor showed just how serious he is about winning in the long haul.

“He had done a lot of homework on our organization – not just on his teammates today, but on the guys he thought might be his teammates in ’26 or ’27 or ’28, our young players,” Hollander told hosts Dave Wyman and Bob Stelton. “He (asked) a lot of questions about them, wanting to get to learn more about them.

“He’d done like a video breakdown on a lot of them and had full write-ups on what he liked about them. It was really impressive. I was blown away.”

The story of "star free agent asks about team's prospects" may be somewhat overblown, but it's clear in this case that Naylor truly did his research. And Hollander went on to state why the two sides coming back together made sense beyond Naylor simply impressing the front office in a presentation.

"Everybody at the table seemed focused on the same thing, which is Josh being with the Mariners and winning a World Series. And not just, 'We had a great year in 2025 and that was our apex,' but like, 'Really, how do we carry this forward?'" Hollander told Wyman and Stelton.

“It was a very impressive presentation by him of what was important to him.”

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