Mariners’ Josh Naylor’s strange down year deserves a second look

Josh Naylor was one of many easy targets during the Mariners’ disappointing 2026 season. They needed pop from the middle of the order, and Naylor supplied just 10 home runs. That gap turned him into shorthand for the list of things that went wrong in Seattle.

But he also stole 30 bases and barged into a piece of baseball history that had been collecting dust for more than a century. Naylor’s 30th steal made him the first primary first baseman since Hall of Famer George Sisler from 1920–22 to record consecutive 30-steal seasons. That doesn’t make up for a paltry .350 slugging percentage. However, it does ruin a lazy argument that his season was worthless.

Naylor finished the season slashing .261/.317/.350 with 156 hits, the aforementioned 10 homers, 57 RBI and 30 steals across 152 games. He ranked second on the Mariners in hits and first in stolen bases. The history attached to that 30th steal forces us to reconsider what productive actually looked like for him this year.

That’s not to say it didn’t look strange. It certainly wasn’t what Seattle envisioned. But it still counted.

Before we go there, let’s be honest about the power outage. Ten homers from a first baseman expected to occupy a central spot in the order is not enough. Naylor stopped driving the ball with the authority the Mariners saw when they acquired him. They needed damage and received a pile of singles. That criticism is earned. But there’s more to it.

Josh Naylor was part of the Mariners’ problem, not the whole problem

Seattle’s season didn’t collapse because their first baseman lost his home-run stroke. Several of the club’s most important hitters all slumped together. The defense was awful and the lineup repeatedly shrank in important situations. Too many winnable games were handed away through poor execution and stretches of lifeless baseball. 

While the power disappeared, he stayed on the field and kept finding other ways to make an impact. He rarely gave pitchers an easy strikeout and continued creating pressure whenever he reached base. A first baseman, with sprint speed in the one percentile, stealing 30 bags in consecutive seasons is about as goofy as it gets. But it requires preparation, timing and a better understanding of pitchers than the pitchers have of him. That is production, even if it arrived in a place the Mariners never ordered. 

Did the right wrist soreness that surfaced twice, sidelining Naylor for two games in June and another in August, play some role in that power outage? It’s worth asking, even if it cannot excuse the entire season. 

Seattle saw how disruptive wrist trouble could become with Colt Emerson, whose left wrist tendon inflammation eventually required season-ending surgery. Naylor’s soreness never appeared to reach that level, but recurring wrist trouble still belongs in the conversation when a hitter’s power disappears. Maybe a healthy offseason brings some of that pop back in 2027. The Mariners have to hope it does.

His season lived in an uncomfortable middle. It was disappointing, yes. He also gave Seattle 152 games, 156 hits and a piece of MLB history. Down years and productive seasons can occupy the same box score.

The assignment is obvious for 2027. Naylor absolutely has to rediscover his power. The Mariners also need to build a lineup sturdy enough to survive when one expensive bat goes quiet. Depending on every established hitter to produce near his ceiling left Seattle with no margin when several of them stumbled at once.

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