4 moves Mariners can make to win the MLB offseason after Josh Naylor deal

The Seattle Mariners have struck for the first major move of the 2025-26 MLB offseason, and it's one that only leaves them with so much to do for the rest of the winter. Josh Naylor is coming back on a five-year deal, effectively fulfilling the franchise's not-quite-unspoken promise to keep him.

Even if this is the only major move the Mariners make, it's going to put them in the conversation for the big winners of the offseason. Naylor was a player they simply had to have back after all he did to get them to within one win of the World Series, and the sheer size of his contract proves that the franchise isn't messing around with its next efforts to finally get to the Fall Classic.

Still, it's worth asking what else the Mariners can do to secure their status as offseason winners. And since they can do so with just one more signing or trade, here are four realistic possibilities in ascending order of impact.

4 major moves that would win the offseason for the Mariners after the Josh Naylor deal

4. Re-sign Jorge Polanco

This feels like the next shoe that has to drop after Naylor, and you could even call it a surprise that re-signing Polanco didn't happen first. He was ostensibly the most likely of the Mariners' core trio of free agents to return.

The 32-year-old Polanco was one of Seattle's top hitters this year, finishing with a career-high 134 OPS+, 26 home runs and 30 doubles. Yet due to his age, recent injury history and lack of a true defensive home, he only figured to sign a deal worth $10-15 million annually. That's pennies for a potential impact bat, which is especially important if you're a mid-market team like the M's.

All that said, it wouldn't be difficult to imagine Polanco's return becoming a bust. It was as recently as 2024 that he was a below-average hitter, and even this year he had long stretches where his bat went completely silent.

3. Sign a high-leverage reliever

Is this too vague? This might be too vague. But we know from Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times that the Mariners want to add "an experienced leverage arm similar" in the mold of Jhoan Duran, and they do have plentiful options even if you rule out a reunion with Edwin Díaz, who could be seeking another nine-figure deal in free agency.

Pete Fairbanks is a possibility, and the free-agent market otherwise has options on offer such as Robert Suarez, Devin Williams, Raisel Iglesias and Ryan Helsley. Any of those five could conceivably be had for $15 million per year, which should be within Seattle's $30-35 million budget even after the Naylor deal.

The Mariners already have an excellent back four of Andrés Muñoz, Matt Brash, Gabe Speier and Eduard Bazardo in their bullpen. Adding one more leverage guy to the mix would effectively create a super-bullpen, which would be nice insurance against what happened in Game 7 of the ALCS.

2. Bring home Ketel Marte in a trade

This one is straightforward: the Arizona Diamondbacks are reportedly open to moving Marte, and the Mariners are one of relatively few teams with the prospect capital to go get him.

Of all the hitters the Mariners can feasibly acquire this winter, Marte is the best. He's a three-time All-Star and his baseline for the last three seasons contains a 141 OPS+, 30 homers and 5.3 rWAR. He's only making $91 million over the next five years, which is probably half what he would get as a free agent.

There were some discerning rumblings out of the desert concerning Marte's work ethic, but the Mariners could be confident that their change of scenery would be the right one for him. It would be a homecoming for the former Mariners prospect, and the clubhouse culture under Dan Wilson is as strong as any in the game right now.

1. Win the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes

Are the Detroit Tigers actually going to trade Skubal? It doesn't sound like it, no. But the Mariners have nonetheless been connected to him by ESPN's Buster Olney, and their collection of top-100 prospects — eight strong, according to MLB Pipeline — should give them a leg up on other contenders for the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner.

To be clear, the Mariners don't need Skubal in a rotation that already has Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo. But with Naylor's return having already fulfilled their biggest need of the winter, the Mariners have license to move onto their wants. And to this end, well, who doesn't want the best pitcher in baseball?

The simplest way to put it is that Skubal is the best player the Mariners can possibly add this winter. Even if he would likely only stick around for 2026, it would be worth it if he was the tip of their spear in a World Series run.