Failed trade bid has Mariners fans imagining a horrible life without Josh Naylor

While the majority of you probably weren't around when The Twilight Zone first aired between 1959-1964, we're sure there are still plenty who are familiar with the premise. One of the main principles focused on what was between the pit of a man's fears and the summit of his knowledge, in the dimension of imagination.

With this in mind, imagine if you will, a world where the Seattle Mariners were not successful in acquiring Josh Naylor prior to this year's trade deadline, with him instead going elsewhere. We're sure some of you are now sweating profusely, nervous and discombobulated, wondering how we could say such a horrifying thing?

We're not just putting this scenario in your mind to be evil, or at the very least mischievous. This was actually something which was very close to becoming a reality, at least according to Bob Nightnegale of USA Today.

Josh Naylor to Cincinnati instead of Seattle?!?!

Nightengale wrote on Sunday that the Cincinnati Reds were close to acquiring Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks, before he ended up going to Seattle. How close has not been confirmed, but it almost sounds like the opposite of what happened with star reliever Jhoan Durán, who was apparently close to joining the Mariners before instead heading to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Suffice it say that life without Naylor could have made all the difference in the Mariners' pursuit of postseason baseball. Perhaps the M's don't win their first AL West division title since 2001, or claim the second AL seed, and maybe ... just maybe ... they miss out on a playoff spot altogether, with the hated Houston Astros instead taking their place.

As Nightengale writes, Naylor was instrumental in the resurgence of a Mariners team with was extremely erratic and unpredictable prior to his arrival on July 24. From sitting at 55-48, the M's then went on a tear with the 28-year-old in the lineup, with his rugged, everyman playing style appealing to people and making him a firm fan favorite.

The visual of Naylor actually belied an extremely cerebral player, but either way he was everything the Mariners could have hoped for and indeed more. He stole bases like never before, he set a career-high 3.1 bWAR with the majority of it coming in Seattle in effectively half the games he played in Arizona, while his .490 slugging percentage, 138 OPS+ and .380 rOBA would have all been new personal bests if projected over an entire season.

The 2024 All-Star was just all around awesome, and literally had the hit which put them in the playoffs. He has proven to be a huge culture guy in the clubhouse, and it isn't hyperbole at all to claim his trade to Seattle was the key decision of the entire 2025 season for the Mariners.

Will the Mariners get Josh Naylor back for next season?

On the subject of the 2025 season, this inevitably leads to the question of if Naylor will be back in Seattle next year. He will become a free agent for the first time this coming offseason and will quite rightly test the market to see what the demand is for him.

There are differing takes on what Naylor will be offered, with ESPN's Jeff Passan someone who can't quite make up his mind about what the first baseman is worth. At first Passan said the Canadian could get more than $100 million, but later claimed the position doesn't usually get paid that well and he could instead earn around three years and $52.5 million.

In truth though the money shouldn't be a deterrant to the Mariners, with this being one of those prime examples of a player being worth whatever it takes to sign him. This is someone who galvanized the franchise and heck, has even said he loves hitting at T-Mobile Park. (We bet not many people had that on their Mariners bingo card.)

At least Mariners fans can take some solace in Nightengale adding that the Mariners will indeed make every attempt to sign Naylor as a free agent this winter. Otherwise, look out for a potential episode of The Twilight Zone where the M's have to imagine a post-apocalyptic world without Naylor in Seattle.