Mariners Projected to Retain Star Trade Deadline Acquisition on Huge Extension
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The Seattle Mariners have had a special stretch run of the season to take the lead in the American League West and likely give their fans a chance to see October baseball for the first time since 2022.
Almost double-digit games above .500 since the All-Star break, this team has just kept plugging away and getting it done night after night, and the reward has been potential glory. There's still a ton of work left to do, but the achievements the Mariners have made -- on top of the West by a game with less than two weeks to go -- should not go without serious condemnation.
One massive reason for why things have gone so well since the summer has been the aggressive trade deadline by general manager Jerry Dipoto, making several huge moves to make the team better. Among those moves was a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks for slugging first baseman Josh Naylor.
The 28-year-old has already left his mark on Seattle, but the reason he was traded was largely because of the fact that he will be a free agent after the season. At least one insider is projecting him to stay though, with Bob Nightengale of USA Today postulating in his Sunday column that Naylor could receive a record contract.
Naylor Projected by Nightengale to Return to Mariners
"Josh Naylor not only has been huge for the Mariners during their fabulous run down the stretch since being acquired from the Diamondbacks, but he may have earned himself a fat contract with Seattle in free agency," Nightengale wrote.
"If the Mariners make the playoffs, and go deep, Naylor should earn the biggest contract by a free-agent position player in GM Jerry Dipoto’s 10 years, eclipsing Mitch Garver’s three-year, $24 million contract, according to MLB Trade Rumors."
Dipoto has already been open about the fact that he wants to keep Naylor in the fold, so it would not be a surprise at all to see them aggressively pursuing a reunion.
Trading For Naylor Has Been Huge for Seattle
In just 44 games with the teams, Naylor has already collected a bWAR of 1.5 while slashing .266/.308/.456 with eight home runs and 26 RBI. When the Mariners have needed a spark, it's been Naylor to answer the call here down the stretch and he is an absolutely massive part of the reason for their success.
Beyond 2025, the jury is likely still out. Regardless of whether or not it's with Seattle as Nightengale asserted, the slugger is likely going to get paid this winter. If this team actually does make the kind of deep run they are looking capable of right now, there's no reason why the Mariners should not do absolutely everything they can to hold onto Naylor.
Beyond that, if Seattle wants to finish off this special regular season with the first divisional title since 2001 -- the longest drought in the American League -- Naylor is going to have to continue to stay hot. No matter what happens after the 2025 season though, this team is extremely happy to have him in the fold, and it's been a heck of a ride with him contributing heavily to this run.
