The Mariners’ season ended with heartbreak in Game 7 of the ALCS versus the Blue Jays, and they’ll now turn their focus to an offseason aimed at building upon what was clearly a World Series-caliber roster (even if they fell just short). They’ll be faced with several key free agent departures — Eugenio Suarez, Josh Naylor and Jorge Polanco chief among them. Per both Daniel Kramer of MLB.com and Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, Naylor is the team’s top priority among all of its potential free agents.
The 28-year-old Naylor (29 next June) was outstanding after being acquired in a deal sending young pitchers Ashton Izzi and Brandyn Garcia back to Arizona. Already in the midst of a nice season with the D-backs (.292/.360/.447), Naylor found another gear in the Emerald City, erupting for a .299/.341/.490 slash (137 wRC+) and astonishingly stealing nearly as many bases (19) in 54 games as he had in his entire career prior (25).
In many ways, Naylor embodies the approach the Mariners have sought in recent offseasons where improving the club’s contact skills has been a goal (one that’s largely eluded them). He punched out in only 13.7% of his plate appearances this year (16.2% with the Mariners) and carries just a 15.2% strikeout rate dating all the way back to 2020. He’s not a traditional slugging first baseman, but Naylor is typically good for around 20 homers per seasons — he hit nine in his 54 games with the M’s — and does have a 31-homer campaign on his résumé with the 2024 Guardians.
Heading into his age-29 season and coming off a career-best year with no qualifying offer attached — he’s ineligible to receive one after being traded midseason — Naylor will be a hot commodity in free agency. In president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto’s nearly a decade running baseball operations in Seattle, he has only given out one multi-year deal to a free agent position player, that being Mitch Garver’s modest two-year, $24MM pact a couple offseasons ago. Clearly, that will need to change in order to retain Naylor.
That said, Dipoto told MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald on our podcast last month that the Mariners have definite interest in keeping Naylor long-term and believe the feeling is mutual. Dipoto noted that Naylor is “as good as anybody that’s played in the last handful of years at hitting [at T-Mobile Park]” — notoriously one of the most pitcher-friendly stadiums in the game. Naylor himself spoke about that to Jude’s colleague Ryan Divish last month, too, stating that as a visitor he “couldn’t wait” to come to T-Mobile Park and emphasizing how much he enjoys the stadium and the atmosphere created by the fan base. He used the word “awesome” multiple times in his more recent chat with Kramer and Jude about his experience in Seattle and the “ride-or-die” mentality of Seattle fans.
Even with mutual interest, the Mariners will have to extend well beyond their prior comfort levels in free agency to keep Naylor. At just 28 years old and coming off four straight seasons of well above-average offense, he should be in position to command a deal of at least four and possibly up to six years in length. In all likelihood, Seattle will need to more than triple and perhaps quadruple its investment to Garver in order to keep Naylor. Currently, the M’s have about $139MM on next year’s books (once Andres Munoz’s option is exercised), per RosterResource, though non-tenders and trades will surely impact that sum. They finished up the current season at about $166MM in payroll.
To be clear, the Mariners have signed players to lucrative long-term deals under Dipoto — just not specifically free agent position players. Left-hander Robbie Ray signed a five-year, $115MM deal in free agency following his Cy Young win back in 2021. The Mariners extended Luis Castillo on a five-year, $108MM deal after acquiring him from the Reds in a deadline swap. And of course, homegrown stars Cal Raleigh (six years, $105MM) and Julio Rodriguez (12 years, $210MM) signed nine-figure extensions to remain in Seattle for the long haul.
That the Mariners will prioritize Naylor over other free agents doesn’t necessarily make it a foregone conclusion that Polanco and Suarez will depart. Both Jude and Kramer suggest that with top prospect Colt Emerson and slick-fielding Ben Williamson in the mix at third base, re-signing Suarez on a weighty multi-year deal that covers his mid-30s is unlikely. However, both also note interest in retaining Polanco, who enjoyed a remarkable rebound campaign after re-signing on the heels of a 2024 season that was ruined by a knee injury.
Polanco underwent surgery last October and roared back into relevance this year with a .265/.326/.495 batting line (132 wRC+) and 26 homers during the regular season. He added three more postseason homers, including a pair of long balls against likely AL Cy Young winner (for the second consecutive season) Tarik Skubal.
The Mariners have a high-upside long-term option at second base in former first-round pick and top prospect Cole Young, but the 22-year-old Young hit just .211/.302/.305 in his first 77 MLB games this year. Even if Young is the long-term answer at second base — and some early struggles in fewer than 300 plate appearances hardly erodes the chances of that happening — Seattle could bring Polanco back as a primary designated hitter and part-time infielder. That’s the role he filled in 2025, tallying 88 games at DH, 38 at second base, five at third base and even one at first base.
As with Naylor, Polanco would require the Mariners to commit a multi-year deal, although not nearly on the same scale. Polanco will turn 33 early next July. A deal for him seems likely to be capped at three years, particularly when considering his recent injury troubles. He’d still require a more sizable commitment than the one made to Garver in free agency two years ago, but not by an especially large margin.
Mariners brass is set to talk with the media at an end-of-season press conference later this morning (1oam PT), and they’ll surely touch on this and a broad range of topics as they look ahead to the offseason, so there could be a fair bit of Mariners news emerging in the very near future.
20hr 30 sb .295 avg
terrific postseason
give him a 5 or 6 yr deal
What the hell. Make it 10. He looks like he’s in great shape
We will see if he can keep his weight under control. It could be a concern as he ages.
I’m skeptical about Naylor long term! Once free agents get life changing money the motivation changes 90% of the time! The only thing that will grow for sure is his bank account and waistline! Anything beyond 3 years would be a huge gamble! Garver ended up being a big disappointment as most free agents normally are.
Mariners have the prospect capital for trades so that would be less risky and like this past season pick up whatever is needed at the trade deadline! Anything over 2 years for Polanco would be a mistake also!
It was a damp and chilly afternoon so I decided to put on my sweatshirt!
Yeah that’s true. I figure plenty of teams will offer him a third year though. I’d love it if the M’s retain him. He was clutch all year long and seems to always take a quality at bat which is lacking in this lineup.
Double exclamation point!
He has made almost 40 million in career earnings now. He has already seen bank account grow
There’s really very little evidence to support your 90% claim.
I believe the M’s will do well if they can sign Naylor to a 4-year deal I would be wary of going any longer, but it will take at least 4 years to sign him. The hit tool and baseball instincts that Naylor has demonstrated are a perfect fit for the M’s needs, even if he ends up potentially blocking Montes from his ideal position in a year or two.
Garver is not Naylor. Sign him to a 5 year deal
It makes so much sense it probably won’t happen.
He was great in the field and at the plate. He did steal 3rd off of Skubal… but didn’t he also make 3 critical unnecessary outs on the bases in the ALCS? Thrown out at 3rd killing an offensive inning and foolishly jumping into a double play.
He deserves credit for his performance for sure. But didn’t he also pimp a solo home run cutting a lead down to 4?
Surely we can be honest in these criticisms while also acknowledging his other contributions. He’s a mixed bag, not a perfect ball player. If you’re fine with the shenanigans then great.
I wouldn’t be thrilled with some his on field behaviors if he was representing my franchise or my team as an owner or manager.
Jumping to break up the double play was pretty bush league. But he is a good player.
Dude’s a good ball player but a bit on the psycho/maniac side. He also seems about ten years older than his actual age.
youtu.be/kxvtYHIVqJ4?si=f-ToeCSJzJ0fSxze
I don’t know. Reggie Jackson did it and he is a baseball god.
It would have been a dbl play anyway. He gave it a shot to see what they would say
Naylor isn’t perfect (who is?) He made an error and his focus was weak early in the Tigers series, while he was waiting for his child to be born, for example. He also isn’t an all-star, more of an above-average regular.
But…. on the out running to third: that was an amazing throw by Barger! Naylor was right to run to third, though his slide should have been much better.
And on the double-play, he didn’t create an additional out for the M’s. It was going to be a double play anyway.
The phrase “never assume the double play” exists in life and official scoring for a reason.
Any thoughts on the home run he pimped for no reason in game 6, cutting a 5-0 lead to 5-1?
To get some fire going in the dugout
My honest reaction is to realize what a bunch of 19th-century puritans even young fans of baseball can be.
Baseball isn’t church: it’s okay to celebrate a moment of success and to be a little bit excited sometimes and maybe even delude yourself into thinking you’re starting the team’s comeback.
Its pretty cool to see a guy listed at 5-10 235lbs swipe 30 bags. Good for him at getting excellent reads and jumps on pitchers.
He’s actually the first player under 6-foot and weigh at least 230 to steal 30 bases.
Thats actually pretty wild lol
The craziest thing to me is that he went 30-for-32 in attempts, and went a perfect 19-for-19 with the Mariners. I guess pitchers just never adjusted and expected him to steal. Even if this was just a one-season thing and opponents learn to adjust, what we saw from him in 2025 was fun.
In 1997, Bagwell had 31 steals and 43 HR’s
Yeah but Bagwell was sort of like Paul Goldschmidt. He was actually a semi-decent runner and stole a dozen or more bases seven seasons in a row. Naylor was in the third percentile of sprint speed this year.
90s Bagwell was yoked.
Bagwell came up as a third basemen, and probably would have thrived there if he hadn’t broken through on a team where Ken Caminiti was well-established and strong defensively. He was never a prototypical slow-footed 1st baseman.
Particularly with that reconstructed ankle. Terrible injury. Amazing he walks without a limp let alone run and steal bases.
I heard he was 3rd-percentile in sprint speed this season! Now that’s some high-quality Baseball IQ!
Good eye, doesn’t strike out a lot, is able to steal a base when needed. Lefty 1st baseman with good defense, and still fairly young. 5 yr. deal for someone.
I’d start at 4/$85M for Naylor and go from there. He and the Mariners are a perfect match.
Not a Mariners fan, but after seeing their play against the Jays, they still need better hitting. Naylor should def be re-signed. With how bad Suarez player after the trade, and in the playoffs, I wonder if management would open up their wallet some more and add someone like Bergman to play 3rd.
They need to spend more money now to augment that pitching and J-Rod/Raleigh combo. This team was so close to playing in the World Series, they can’t put the foot off the gas now!
Ownership’s track record suggests that Bregman won’t be added and that Ben Williamson will be the opening day third baseman. I’m actually okay with that because he’s a Gold Glove caliber defender and will develop decent power, Bringing back Naylor and Polanco along with tightening up the pen need to be the priority. Castillo can be used as trade bait to get that done.
Free agency is a handshake. Bregman ain’t going to the M’s.
Unfortunately, thats exactly what they will do. The M’s ownership values money above all else. They will only sign one FA and Naylor is as high as it will get. They will not sign big names.
Naylor makes a lot of sense for most of the northeast teams.
As a Mariners fan I agree
Dipunto made some deals a few years ago to address the teams swing and miss problem and it was still the what killed them in 2025. Believe that was the year the delt away Suarez? Bringing in Bregman would make sense, but they just dont spend like that.
He and the Os are a perfect match. Os have a lot of money coming off the books and they desperately need a guy a bit older with a veteran presence (compared to the rest of the team) who can hit more than 18 HRs and lead. May also work for them because they hate the long big-money deals so 4 or 5 years under 125M is right in their wheelhouse. It may get crowded at 1B in Baltimore but they should prioritize making him fit there and everyone else can land wherever they do.
Underrated player. Great power, decent contact bat, and efficient base thief. I suspect he’ll get underpaid on the market because he is a 1B/LF type.
He looks like he should be playing for the Pirates, but the Mariners are also a good fit.
If they can pay Haniger 15/17m, they can offer Josh 18-20m.
Love Geno, but his hitting is a drag. Hope he signs for 1 year somewhere else, and if Sea is in the hunt and has a spot for Geno- bring him back
I agree on Geno. He was a hero in that one game, but other than that, he was usually an automatic out. It’s really hard for me to support bringing him back. If they do, I’ll root like hell for him, but it’s not the best move in my opinion.
Geno is ALWAY behind in the count. He’s the master of the check swing foul ball for strike one. The right down the middle fastball for strike two. And the off the plate chase for strike three. We love him up here but don’t want him back necessarily.
Love to have him on my team. He’s a true gamer!! Good luck Seattle.
I wish it was Seattle in the WS instead of the Blue Jays. Jays probably have a better chance against the Dodgers if I’m being honest, but I’d have loved seeing the M’s finally get there and maybe even surprise the baseball world. Not even an M’s fan, but they’ve got a likeable young team.
This makes too much sense to not happen. Only problem is DiPoto would have to sign someone instead of trade for them like he loves doing. Maybe resigning someone he traded for makes it easier to resist the urge to just trade for someone else.
Seattle’s needs right now are: 3B, 2B, 1B, DH, C (backup), four relievers, plus depth all around.
Some of these can be filled internationally, but they really need an impact bat and a couple of leverage relievers from among those needs.
Ford could serve in the backup Catcher role as Raleigh will likely DH quite a bit next season. Cole Young will still get a look at 2B and an option there can probably found inexpensively. 3B could be Williamson or a different option as there will be competition for Suarez. The last time the Mariners spent big on a 1B/3B combination was 2005 when they signed Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre to multi-year contracts so we’ll see what DiPoto does
(I’m sure you meant “internally” because the international market is really comprised of the players in Japan that expect to be posted. :))
Internal replacements are ready: Williamson/Emerson at 3B, Young at 2B, and Ford at C. When they sign Naylor, he’s at 1B. I’d love to see them get someone really annoying to pitchers – Kwan comes to mind – to be a true leadoff hitter. I’m sure there are plenty of prospects they can deal to CLE to make that happen. And yes, they only really had a 4-man bullpen for the playoffs, so at least one more great LHR (among a few RHR as well), along with a LHS to complement all those righties. The M’s have a ton of trade capital and even after signing Kirby and Gilbert, should have ample money for Naylor after all those larger contracts could me off the books.
*come off the books.
Good ol’ autocorrect.
Yes, internally (almost autocorrected that again!). But how many rookies/inexperienced players can they really carry? Keep in mind, Emerson is likely going to debut at some point as well, and Arroyo may as well.
If they trot out Williamson and Young, or even Rivas, they’ll need a bigger bat for the middle-order.
I wouldn’t have a problem going young in the infield if they get an impact bat to ensure the younger hitters are 7-9.
They will need another LHRP, no doubt. But I want to see at least two more leverage arms as well.
Stevil, as usual, not wrong. This postseason roster might as well have had only 20 players for example. Hancock, Ferguson, and Jackson only pitched mop-up, if that. Ford didn’t play, Garver and Mastrobuoni barely played, and the two right fielders combined to largely suck the oxygen out of the stadiums.
2RHR and 1 LHR at least. A plan B for a both Williamson and Young that isn’t just Emerson (Bring back Polo?).
That third OF position has to produce more than Canzone and Robles. Me, I’d get Kwan, but a good case could be made for a big bopper, but not just a potential one that had a career year in 2023 or something like that. We have a potential bopper in Montes already, but he’s just not ready yet.
He’s one of the younger free agents but I don’t think he’s going to command a huge contract with his body type. He also doesn’t cost a draft pick. I feel like Schwarber’s last contract is a good comparison. Maybe an extra year and a little more money each year?
The bedazzled cleats/belt combo was simply too good to let him go anywhere else.
In my Seattle polanco and Naylor are back, no chance for Suárez
Assuming that Pete Alonso starts out with a ridiculous amount of years and a stupid number, I think that the Mets need to check in on Naylor. While his power won’t be the same as Alonso, the defense would be an upgrade. He’s also younger than Alonso, and I don’t think that Pete will age well. The question would be where Naylor would prefer to play, and if that’s more important to him than the dollars, because this is his chance to get the deal of his lifetime, and I suspect that Steve Cohen won’t be outbid for Naylor..
I agree, As a Mariners fan, I am concerned that the Mets will indeed pursue Josh Naylor.
I agree that Alonso will not age well, I’m thinking tail end will look like Rizzo’s last year in NY
BigRedMachine
2 hours ago
I feel like the Mariners need to do a few things and they may be right back at the top of the AL west. With Garver, Haniger, and Dylan Moore, they have AT LEAST $30 million coming off the books if not more. First and foremost is signing Josh Naylor, Besides being a great player, competitor, and clubhouse leader the Mariners have no other decent 1st base option on the current roster or in the Minors. Second is to get at least one more bat that consistently puts the ball in play. It could be a DH, 2b, 3b or RF. Steven Kwan would be a dream but someone Brendan Donovan would be a huge help. Polanco would be nice to have back but I cannot see then giving him more than two years. As much as I love Suarez as a person, I don’t believe that he is a good match for the Mariners fiscally at age 35. I would like to see them go with Ben Williamson who has an amazing glove and did hit for more power in the minors after the Eugenio trade, although it is the minors. They need to add One more LH relief pitcher in the bullpen if not another leverage arm at least and I am curious what a healthy Gregory Santos may do for the M’s bullpen but his availability has been non existent. If the rotation can return to consistent health and their ability you could see perhaps one of the best rotations in MLB next year, So much that Luis Castillo could be your 5th starter. Colt Emerson ss-3b, Laz Montes out/DH, and Kade Anderson LH SP and a few other top prospects are all a year away but coming and could be difference making. The. Future could be pretty good.
Money is coming off the books, but Kirby and Gilbert (and maybe Arozarena) should be getting pretty sizable arb raises so there’s not that much to go around.
I agree, Yeasties, I believe that they will sign either Gilbert or Kirby and perhaps both to extensions sooner than later. I personally don’t believe that they will re-sign Randy Arozarena. Turns 31 this upcoming season and they have Laz Montes and Johnny Farmelo coming up and believe they will spend the $$ on the Pitching staff and Keep Gilbert, Kirby and maybe even Woo and Miller around longer. They MUST sign Josh Naylor. Absolutely no one on the current roster or in the farm system that can play 1st at a decent level.
Randy definitely will be getting a big raise especially with being an All Star
Yes, he was an all-star but only because Julio decided not to attend, still deserving but man he strikes out a lot and his defense is ok.
They shouldn’t even let Naylor reach free agency; do what it takes to extend him.
Agree MeowMeow
Naylor would be silly to take an extension before free agency. Why let one team set your price when 10 can? Even if he comes back to Seattle he’s not signing before FA
There has to be 5 or more teams interested in Naylor. He might get a larger deal than what everyone is guessing here.
You got to love the guy that looks and acts like they just pulled him from the stands and gave him a go. Great to watch. Good on him.
Love to see Nats go for him and show they really want to win now. However, it ain’t happening. 🙁
Resign Josh and trade for Bo to be backup catcher.
Doyer’s should grab him in case Freddy hurts his ankle. They need some more bats after they grab Tucker
Look, if Josh is ready to jump up, turn his back and get hit to break up a DP, then he is worth the money!
I’m bummed the Mariners couldn’t quite make it to the WS. It helps knowing the future for the team looks very bright and they could be back in the ALCS again next year, even better if Naylor is still with the team.
They should consider Naylor but they should try to get Bichette for 2B this winter.
As they should.
The Mariners may well make a push to sign first baseman Josh Naylor.
But what a difference a year makes!
Seattle retains three seasons of team control over lefthand-hitting 1B/OF Luke Raley, who in 2023-24 posted 5.9 bWAR and a 127 OPS+ in 255 games to Naylor’s 3.7 bWAR and 124 OPS+ in 273 games over the same two seasons.
Recency bias clearly favors Naylor, who is three years younger than Raley.
They need to trade Randy for a leftfielder who will actually do something with the bat in the 2026 World Series.
Sign Naylor 3/60
Sign Polo 2/20
Trade JP Crawford. (-$10m)
SS Emerson from Day 1
Yandy Diaz is a Mariner If they don’t sign Naylor
Do the Mariners have a really good batting coach?
There shouldn’t be a comma before “too.”