Mariners deliver on offseason promise with immediate free agent reunion fans needed

And so it begins...

Eric Cole

American League Championship Series - Seattle Mariners v Toronto Blue Jays - Game Seven / Vaughn Ridley/GettyImages

The Seattle Mariners came tantalizingly close to the franchise's first World Series in 2025, but a familiar problem came back to bite them. While there were some standout performances at the plate - especially Cal Raleigh, who was a man possessed - the Seattle offense never found much in the way of consistency to back up their stellar pitching staff. However, one of the bright spots from the lineup was trade deadline acquisition Josh Naylor, and Mariners fans desperately wanted (and needed) him back.

All the signs were there that the Mariners were going to make a big push to re-sign Naylor. The front office had already gone on record saying they wanted to "try to bring as many back as possible" when it came to members of the 2025 roster. It also felt like Naylor was open, if not eager, to coming back to Seattle as well. However, what we didn't have was a deal in place to get it done...until Sunday night.

ESPN's Jeff Passan has reported that the Mariners are close to a five-year deal with Naylor and, with that, a major offseason shopping list item has been checked off right away.

Mariners check major offseason box as they are finalizing a deal to bring back Josh Naylor

While there are other bats on the offseason market that are available as free agents or trade targets that could have technically replaced Naylor, none fit the cost plus production combo that Naylor represented. The best bats are going to cost a fortune, and the ones that are "bargains" come with serious questions, if not numerous red flags. Seattle needed Naylor, and they made sure Thanksgiving did not arrive before they got a deal done.

What we know at the moment is that this is a five-year deal of some sort, but the exact financial terms have yet to be reported as of early Sunday evening. Naylor had been predicted by The Athletic to be in line for a four-year, $90 million deal entering the offseason, although they also mentioned Paul Goldschmidt's five-year, $130 million as a potential comp as well.

This is great news and speaks to what Jerry DiPoto/Justin Hollander can do when the chains are taken off and he is allowed to wheel and deal. Time will tell if this will be a one-off splash (which would be very disappointing) this offseason or if it is a sign that the Mariners are looking to make more waves this offseason than we initially thought.

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.