REACTION: #Mariners Sign Josh Naylor | #SeattleSports

REACTION: #Mariners Sign Josh Naylor | #SeattleSports

It might not be Christmas yet, but Mariners fans and I think Mariners players have already received a huge present. Josh Naylor is going to be under the tree by this week. Unbelievable 5-year deal. He signs to stay with the organization rather than testing free agency. I think this does two things. One, it shows just how special last year really was. He was an important part of it. And we wondered whether or not he was going to head to free agency and test the market after, you know, all of the years he spent betting on himself. He didn’t. He doesn’t wait for free agency to truly open. Instead, he signs with the Mariners right away. He must have enjoyed what happened here over the course of the last few months. And it also shows both the players in that clubhouse and the fans that the team is serious. They’re serious about what they did last year and about taking it to the next level. Not that I needed a lot of convincing on that. Secondly though, this opens up the entire off season. There are so many possibilities that they’re now capable of following up on that they couldn’t do without a first baseman. Let’s face it, the first base market this year is brutal. If you don’t have Josh Naylor, there aren’t a lot of other good options. In fact, there might not have been any other good options. So, what do you do? You sign the guy that already makes sense for you. And now the opportunities are endless. You want to go after TKO or another big name star pitcher? You can do that now because your first priority has already been taken care of. You took care of the basics. Now you can go big game hunting. Love what this does for the Mariners. Love what it does for their fans. What a wonderful start. I’m not the only one happy. Look, Gertie’s happy, too.

Mike Salk (Brock & Salk) shares his instant reaction to the Mariners signing a 5-year extension with 1B Josh Naylor and what it means for the future of the team.