Mariners Insider Shares Blunt Opinion On Josh Naylor Signing

The Mariners made the right call to bring him back.

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

On Sunday night, the Seattle Mariners made the first big move of the offseason, re-signing first baseman Josh Naylor to a five-year, $92.5 million contract.

The 2024 American League All-Star was a key piece for the Mariners after they acquired him from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the trade deadline, helping lead them to the ALCS for the first time since 2001. They even took the Toronto Blue Jays the full seven games.

After the signing became official, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times shared his thoughts on the deal and made a definitive statement about what it means and what the ramifications would have been if it hadn’t worked out.

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Mariners Needed To Re-Sign Josh Naylor

Oct 19, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Seattle Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor (12) singles in the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays during game six of the ALCS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images | Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

“It would have been a colossal failure this offseason if they couldn’t have made this work,” Divish said.

Between Arizona and Seattle, Naylor put together a very strong 2025 season, hitting .295/.353/.462 with 20 home runs, 92 RBI, a 3.1 WAR and an .816 OPS. They needed to keep their slugger to remain competitive in the American League.

Naylor gives the Mariners a great chance to potentially return to the postseason in 2026 and make a deeper run in October than they did in 2025. Without him, they would be in a little trouble.

The contract is relatively team friendly and doesn’t force the Mariners to break the bank. Now, the Mariners have another key slugger to build around to go along with both Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez.

First base is also locked down for the next five years. But if they hadn’t been able to keep Naylor, they would have needed to up the ante on their potential pursuits of Eugenio Suarez and Jorge Polanco.

They have Colt Emerson and Cole Young who can take over at second base and third base, so they don’t necessarily have to worry about Polanco and Suarez anymore.

They got their man by re-signing Naylor, and being able to do so is very important for their title chances. Naylor clearly enjoys playing in Seattle and wants to win a ring for the city.

Without him, that would have been much harder. He was their top target, and they needed to make sure they kept him around for another run in 2026.

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