The Seattle Mariners are finalizing a 5-year contract with free agent 1B Josh Naylor, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The deal has been confirmed by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic pending a physical, meaning Seattle has successfully accomplished their publicly stated top priority of the winter.
Naylor’s fit with Seattle stretched back to last winter, as the lefty-swinging Canadian was a hot topic of discussion for Seattle to improve their first base position. Instead, Naylor was dealt from the Cleveland Guardians
to the Arizona Diamondbacks, before becoming a Mariner just before the 2025 trade deadline and immediately making a huge impact. Naylor spent the back half of the summer cementing himself as a fan and front office favorite, swiping bags and smacking baseballs all over the yard. Now, Naylor will be in Northwest Green for the better part of his career.
Naylor is just four months removed from his 28th birthday, which likely improved his viability for the M’s towards extending him the longest free agent contract for a position player in the Jerry Dipoto Era. Naylor simply played himself into indispensability. After a .292/.360/.447 line with 11 home runs and a 122 wRC+ in 93 games with Arizona, Naylor went from one of the most historically hitter-friendly parks to the sport’s most challenging, and in so doing dropped all the way to a… .299/.341/.490 line, with 9 homers in just 54 games, good for a 137 wRC+ and some of the most important moments of the season.
When news of the financial details are available, we will update this story, as well as when the team confirms.
