Free agent first baseman Josh Naylor is returning to the Seattle Mariners on a five-year contract, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.
Terms of the deal were not initially reported. Naylor’s deal represents the first significant free-agent signing of the offseason. He was ranked as the No. 15 free agent on the market by Yahoo Sports.
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A former All-Star with the Cleveland Guardians, Naylor joined the Mariners at the trade deadline from the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was a key player on a Mariners team that advanced to the ALCS and came up one win short of advancing to the franchise’s first-ever World Series.
Naylor, 28, delivered after joining the Mariners and now has a long-term future with the franchise that projects to return to contention next season. In 54 regular-season games, Naylor slashed .299/.341/.490 with 9 home runs, 33 RBI and 19 stolen bases.
He was one of Seattle’s best players in the postseason while slashing .340/.392/.574 with 3 home runs, 5 RBI and 2 stolen bases in 12 games. By the end of Seattle’s postseason run, he moved into the top 4 of Seattle’s lineup and was a favorite among a frenetic Mariners fanbase. His return on a long-term contract should be welcome news in Seattle.
