Naylor signals Seattle Mariners are destination for players

The Seattle Mariners and marquee hitters in free agency have rarely matched up since the team moved outdoors to the pitcher-friendly T-Mobile Park.

How Josh Naylor left Seattle Mariners GM ‘blown away’ in meeting

There have been exceptions, chiefly when the team won the bidding for superstar second baseman Robinson Canó with a massive 10-year, $240 million contract in 2013. But there is something different about the five-year, $92.5 million deal the team signed first baseman Josh Naylor to just weeks into the current period of free agency.

And that’s something worth pointing out, as MLB Network insider Jon Morosi did Wednesday during his weekly conversation with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob.

“I think it was emblematic of where the Mariners are,” Morosi said, “that they made a strong offer, a good offer – I think Josh Naylor did very well – but the Mariners didn’t have to give him two or three (times) what another team would have done.”

Morosi’s point is that the Mariners are now seeing their recent success both on and off the field pay off in their roster pursuits. He used the example of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who went 71-91 in 2025 and were reported to have been interested in Naylor, as a contrast.

“The Pirates are trying to announce their legitimacy and get back on the radar of the sport,” Morosi said. “It usually takes a few cycles of free agents, and often you have to overpay to bring someone in to announce your arrival – which is the way it was for the Tigers coming off of 119 losses back in ’03 when they overspent for Pudge Rodriguez. You sometimes have to overspend.”

Seattle fans shouldn’t have trouble understanding that, as the Canó megadeal – which is still the largest contract in Mariners history – came after the M’s finished 71-91 in the 2013 season.

There’s a clear difference between hitching your wagon to a big free agent after a period of losing seasons and where the Mariners stand now.

“When you create the right environment, and when you win, you don’t have to try as hard or spend as much in free agency,” Morosi said. “When anybody ever asks why do teams spend on infrastructure, on coaching, on good travel, high performance… the way they treat families, all the things that go into doing it the right way – when you do it the right way, often enough it comes back to you with times like this, where the first major free agent that is signed is your guy.”

The Mariners are coming off of their first American League West championship and first trip to the AL Championship Series in 24 years. They’ve also won 85 games or more in five straight seasons, which marks the first time in team history they’ve had five winning seasons in a row. And they have one of MLB’s top-ranked farm systems.

And those in Major League Baseball seem to be taking notice of the franchise’s direction.

“This is a really nice demonstration that people in the sport, especially those in their own clubhouse, were paying attention,” Morosi said. “OK, October, it didn’t end the way that you wanted it to, but it still is giving you benefits. And the benefit is that notable guys that have a lot of respect and cred in the game, like Josh Naylor does, want to be Mariners and they don’t have to play a game (in free agency) and wait three months to make it happen.”

There could be a snowball effect when it comes to the Mariners trying to convince other players to sign this offseason, too.

“And by the way, when you make the right signing… you get to retain your leverage a bit when you talk to Eugenio Suárez or Jorge Polanco or others in those positions to where other teams now know you’re not desperate,” Morosi said. “You are operating from a position of strength because people want to play for you.”

MLB Network insider Jon Morosi joins Wyman and Bob at 5 p.m. each Wednesday during the baseball offseason. Catch Wyman and Bob live from 2-7 p.m. weekdays on Seattle Sports.

Naylor signals Seattle Mariners are destination for players

Tags: