Mariners' true No. 1 priority for MLB offseason shoves Tarik Skubal buzz to the side

There's been plenty of talk recently about the potential of the Seattle Mariners making a move for Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. The likes of ESPN's Buster Olney has the M's in the mix for arguably the best pitcher in the majors and SoDo Mojo's Zachary Rymer explained why they should attempt to trade for the likely back-to-back AL Cy Young Award winner.

Despite the temptation and understanding of why the Mariners should target Skubal, Rymer did add the key distinction that the team doesn't actually need him. And as much fun as such a potential union undoubtedly would be in Seattle, the Mariners have made it clear about what their number one priority is for this offseason.

Josh Naylor is the man in Seattle

We're referencing Josh Naylor, whose addition ahead of the 2025 MLB trade deadline proved to have a galvanizing impact on the Mariners. As much as baseball is the ultimate team game and other players had significant roles, as far as we're concerned the M's don't make it to the doorstep of their first ever World Series berth without Naylor in the lineup.

As such, it really should come as no surprise that the Mariners keep making it clearer that the 2024 All-Star is their most pressing concern as of right now. As per MLB.com's Daniel Kramer, M's general manager Justin Hollander reiterated this point during an interview with MLB Network Radio last Thursday:

"It was a great fit and it’s definitely a priority for us this offseason -- if not one, I don’t know what else would be, he’s No. 1 right now. ... I don’t really see a reason, there’s no advantage to hiding the ball, to telling people, ‘It was just fine.’ It wasn’t just fine. It was awesome. It was a great fit for the two months, and we’d like to make it last a lot longer."

Justin Hollander

If you're a Mariners fan these comments from Hollander should be music to your ears, with Naylor's agent loving them even more. People quickly related to and embraced a player with a ruffled, dad bod everyday man look, and it makes total sense why the organization want him around for the long run in Seattle.

As we've written previously, Naylor's appearance belies a cerebral personality who's always studying the game and trying to find an advantage, with him also appearing to be an exception in that T-Mobile Park is weirdly to his liking. Of course we do still have to add that Hollander's comments could conceivably come back to bite the Mariners.

Mariners have the money to pay Josh Naylor

It would be a huge blow if Naylor actually leaves, but if he does, it shouldn't be because he gets a better offer elsewhere. Again as per Kramer, it's been made clear the Mariners front office has financial flexibility, with the starting point being the $165.2 million payroll they ended this past season with that doubles as the highest in franchise history.

With the combination of Naylor being the Mariners' number one priority and financial flexibility, there really is no excuse not to offer him whatever he wants. Heck, if money is the name of the game for the Ontario, Canada native, let's also add in the fact that Washington doesn't tax income!

The fit is great for both sides and this is a team primed to make another genuine run at the first AL Pennant in franchise history. Ultimately, and we do mention this with a certain degree of trepidation, the stage is all set up to make it that the only reason Naylor does not sign a long-term contract extension with the Mariners is, quite simply, because he just wants to play for another team.