SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – JULY 17: Baseball Operations PresidentJerry Dipoto of the Seattle Mariners addresses the media after picking SS Cole Young 21st overall in the 2022 MLB Draft at T-Mobile Park on July 17, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
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The Seattle Mariners want to build on a season that brought them within one game of the World Series and they’ve made a major roster addition to that end.
The team has taken a significant step toward reassembling the star-studded roster that carried the team to Game 7 of the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays this past season by removing the first headline free agent from the market this winter.
“First baseman Josh Naylor and the Seattle Mariners are finalizing a five-year contract, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN,” Major League Baseball insider Jeff Passan reported. “The first major free agent to sign this winter goes back to Seattle, where he was beloved after joining the Mariners in a deadline trade.”
The news was subsequently confirmed by MLB reporters like The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman and MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
MLB insider Ari Alexander reported that Naylor’s new deal with the Mariners could be worth as much as $100 million
The Mariners acquired Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a deadline deal after he began the year on a one-year, $10.9 million contract. Naylor slashed .299/.341/.490 in his brief stint for the Mariners during the regular season, then slugged three homers in the ALCS.
In addition to his bat, the Mariners reportedly valued Naylor’s temperament in negotiating a new deal with him.
“The Mariners made Josh Naylor their top priority entering the winter, and his excellence down the stretch got him a long-term deal to join Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez and the Mariners’ rotation as a foundational piece,” Passan added. “His energy was infectious. Seattle didn’t want to lose it.”
With the top of the batting order locked in, a young crop of high-caliber starters and a leading bullpen in place, the Mariners are poised to contend for a World Series championship again next year. Mariners general manager Justin Hollander signaled that the team would be looking to bring Naylor back along with as much of this past season’s roster as possible in an effort to go a bit further next season.
“I think No. 1 for us is ideally keeping as much of the group that we had last year, that we really believed in, together,” Hollander said during the MLB general managers meetings, according to Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times. “And then filling in the rest of the roster as required. Our offseason is largely going to start with the guys who were on the team last year and try to bring as many back as possible.”
With Naylor now off the market and headed for a reunion, the Mariners have taken a big first step toward fulfilling that goal.
