Mariners get their man as Josh Naylor signs 5-year deal in Seattle

Josh Naylor backs up his previous talk about how much he enjoys playing for the Mariners, by re-signing long-term in the Pacific North West.

Seattle Mariners ownership truly started to change the perception of them within the fanbase for the better, when they went all-in at this past season’s trade deadline. Now they’ve continued the positive progress by re-signing one of their main acquisitions back in July, with Josh Naylor agreeing to a new five-year deal as the first significant free agent move of the Major League offseason.

The signing of Naylor was announced by Mariners Executive Vice President and General Manager of Baseball Operations Justin Hollander, on Monday afternoon. Financial terms of the deal have not been officially confirmed, but sources advised MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer that it is for $92.5 million.

Similar to when the Mariners signed Cal Raleigh to a long-term contract extension ahead of the 2025 season, Naylor’s deal is seen as a team-friendly contract. Some had predicted the 2024 All-Star would get $92 million over four years while others projected five years at $100 million, so either way he’s arguably accepted less to remain in Seattle.

Josh Naylor backs up his talk about enjoying life in Seattle

This speaks volumes about how much the Mariners mean to Naylor, and backs up his previous words about enjoying playing for the team and also being that seemingly rare breed of a player who loves hitting at T-Mobile Park. And in fairness, his play following the trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks backed up these comments from the 28-year-old.

Naylor produced a .299/.341/.490 slash line and .831 OPS over 54 games with the Mariners and his 138 OPS+ in Seattle would have projected to a career-high over the course of a full season. On the subject of career-high, he did set a new single-season best with a 3.1 bWAR, which included a 2.2 bWAR with the M’s despite playing roughly half as many games as in Arizona.

The Ontario, Canada native also developed a penchant for effective base-stealing, with 30 on 32 attempts including 19 stolen bags for the Mariners. This highlighted his baseball IQ and always looking for ways to improve his game, to help overcome ranking way down in the third percentile for Sprint Speed as per Baseball Savant.

As tremendous as Naylor was for the Mariners in the regular season, this only set the stage for an even better postseason as he proved to be one of their top performers. He had a team-best .340 batting average over the course of 12 games, on the way to producing a .967 OPS and prove how clutch he can be when the stakes are raised.

Mariners set up to again challenge for the World Series

In a statement released by the Mariners, Naylor shared his delight about getting to stay in Seattle for the next five years. He said:

“I’m going to be a Mariner again and I couldn’t be more excited. From the moment I arrived, everyone in the organization welcomed and helped me. The players brought me in and loved my game right away, and the fans were incredible. Seattle has the best fanbase in baseball. They’re electric and support us through and through, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that. I can’t wait to continue to play with these guys and bring the city a championship.”

The Mariners had maintained all along that getting Naylor re-signed was at the top of their ‘to-do’ list and President of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto mentioned this in his own statement. He said:

“Ensuring that Josh remains a Mariner for the long haul was a priority for us. Josh’s intelligence, intensity, toughness, and competitiveness show up every day. He’s simply a winner.”

The Mariners still have some uncertainty surrounding second and third base as well as finding another quality reliever, but first base was the biggest concern of all. Not any more though, as Naylor will undoubtedly help the ongoing quest to secure that first ever AL Pennant and elusive World Series berth in franchise history.

Photos court​‌esy of Tim Rogers Photography

What type of productivity are you predicting for Naylor over the course of a full 2026 campaign with the Mariners? Similar to this past season’s 66-game sample size in Seattle, slightly worse, or even better? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.