Full Josh Naylor contract details revealed and it's a big win for the Mariners

After a long wait of, oh, roughly 24 hours, we finally know what Josh Naylor's newly minted five-year contract is going to cost the Seattle Mariners. The exact figure is in that sweet spot of significant, yet shockingly reasonable.

On Monday, Jeff Passan of ESPN was among those who broke the details of the agreement that Naylor and the Mariners came to on Sunday. The All-Star first baseman is getting a guarantee of $92.5 million through 2030, with a full no-trade clause and no deferrals. FanSided's own Robert Murray added that Naylor is getting a $6.5 million signing bonus.

This is almost the exact contract that Naylor was projected for by MLB Trade Rumors, though it comes in under some of the more aggressive projections. One of those even had Naylor signing for as much as $120 million, which would have set a new high-water mark for the Mariners in the Jerry Dipoto era.

Josh Naylor's contract details confirm his deal as a win for the Mariners

As it is, Naylor's total guarantee eclipses Dipoto's previous high for a free-agent hitter by nearly $70 million. And at a rate of $18.5 million per year, he becomes the club's second-most expensive player on an annual basis after Luis Castillo.

The inherent risk of this deal should not be ignored. Naylor peaked at a solid, yet unexceptional 3.1 rWAR this past season. His total for the last four seasons comes to 8.5 rWAR, which doesn't even qualify him as one of the 100 most valuable hitters in the league.

And yet, what Dipoto said about Naylor in a statement on Monday rings true: “Ensuring that Josh remains a Mariner for the long haul was a priority for us. Josh’s intelligence, intensity, toughness, and competitiveness show up every day. He’s simply a winner.”

The Mariners went 33-21 in the 54 games Naylor played with them after coming over from the Arizona Diamondbacks in July, compared to 55-48 beforehand. And as much as you can point to Naylor's numbers — i.e., a 138 OPS+, nine home runs, 19 stolen bases and 2.2 rWAR — as being instrumental in his late-season rise as a Mariner, there was so much more to it.

He brought a dash of intensity to an otherwise cool, calm and collected clubhouse, and he did things to help the Mariners win that simply aren't going to show in a box score. Seemingly every game he played offered some sort of masterclass in knowing baseball, and he never encountered a moment that was too large for him.

Given that Naylor is still only 28 years old, how the Mariners signed a player like that for only $18.5 million per year is hard to fathom.

It could be that he granted them a discount on account of how the state of Washington does not tax income. Or, perhaps he considered his 1.015 OPS at T-Mobile Park and realized Seattle is the right place for his bat. Or, maybe he's as motivated as the rest of his once-and-future Mariners teammates to see to unfinished business after a magical 2025 season ended tragically in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.

Whatever the case, it feels like the Mariners are getting away with something. Despite the risks, Naylor is only the ninth-most expensive first baseman in MLB in terms of average annual value. He slots behind Christian Walker, who is six seasonal years older and coming off a dismal 0.2 rWAR season.

Naylor's deal also gives the Mariners that much more wiggle room to make further moves. They reportedly have a $30-35 million budget for new salaries, in which case there's still plenty of room for a reunion with Jorge Polanco.

No matter what happens next, it is with apologies with Humphrey Bogart that we say this feels like the continuation of a beautiful friendship.