Retaining Josh Naylor has been the central focus of the Seattle Mariners’ offseason plans.
Naylor excelled for Seattle, shining in 54 regular-season appearances and 12 postseason games, where he led the team in most offensive categories in October. Now entering his age-29 season, his standout performance has positioned him perfectly for a major payday.
The question for the Mariners isn’t whether they want to keep Naylor—it’s how much it will take to re-sign him, and whether they can afford that price while still pursuing their other offseason objectives.
In a recent piece for Just Baseball, Ryan Finkelstein offered an encouraging update for Mariners fans, suggesting that a reunion with Josh Naylor appears financially realistic.
Finkelstein projected on Friday that Naylor would re-sign with Seattle on a four-year deal worth $88 million.
“A quick fan-favorite, it is a no-brainer to re-up with Naylor, especially since he won’t turn 29 years old until the end of June, giving him plenty of real estate left in his prime,” Finkelstein wrote. “If the Mariners went to five years or six years on Naylor to lower the AAV, they can rest easy knowing that even a six-year deal won’t take him past 35.
“But considering the market for first basemen in recent years, I ultimately think Naylor and the Mariners will settle on a four-year deal, and one that is a bit richer in AAV than the three-year deal Christian Walker signed last offseason ($20 million AAV).”
These kinds of contract numbers are a far cry from what most people would have predicted for Naylor just a year ago, when he was traded for the first time and spent only four months with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Now, however, it’s entirely reasonable to expect Naylor to command more than $20 million annually — and the focus has shifted to which other teams might emerge as serious contenders for his signature.
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