Josh Naylor's adjustment led to the total undoing of Mariners panic button

It was only a few days ago that the Mariners had us asking how early was too early to panic. But after three straight wins over the Astros put them on the verge of a sweep, the only box left to check was Josh Naylor kicking his bat into gear. We're only half-joking when we say he did so literally by changing his leg kick.

After homering zero times through the Mariners' first 16 games, Naylor went deep on two straight pitches in Monday's sweep-clinching 6-2 win. He also raised his average from .102 to .127, which is best spun as 25 points worth of progress, darn it.

It was always inevitable that the Mariners' $92.5 million first baseman would get his bat going. This is a guy who had a 124 OPS+ across the four previous seasons, and he's very much in his prime at 28 years old. Moreover, certain statistics suggested he had been getting unlucky.

Even so, you have to credit Naylor for forcing the issue by adjusting the leg lick that he uses as a timing device at the plate. The change even got some attention on X, with Mariners great Mike Cameron calling it out and another user providing a helpful visualization of how it differed from Naylor's old leg kick. For lack of a better way to put it, it's a bit more pronounced.

Should Naylor have been doing this all along? Maybe. But the thing with mechanical adjustments is that you don't know if they're right until you try them. And in this case, Naylor's new leg kick sure seems right for him.

A productive Josh Naylor brings the Mariners' offensive ceiling back into focus

At least for the moment, Mariners fans can breathe a sigh of relief. That's four straight wins following a five-game losing streak that had everyone in the Pacific Northwest smashing the panic button.

Moreover, it's four straight wins that were largely driven by the hitters who had been so cold during the team's 4-9 start. Before Naylor on Monday, Randy Arozarena and Julio Rodríguez got off the home run schneid on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Cal Raleigh also homered on Saturday, marking the first time in 2026 that he and Julio homered in the same game.

That game was also the one in which the Mariners erased a five-run deficit, ultimately setting the stage for J.P. Crawford to do what he does best: hit in the clutch. His walk-off single with the bases loaded marked his first big knock of the year.

Exactly 29 runs later, this is more like how the Mariners offense was supposed to look in 2026. And with Naylor in particular, it feels nice to stop wondering if he's doomed to become the organization's latest free-agent bust.