As the calendar approaches Thanksgiving, the MLB hot stove is beginning to warm. Sunday night saw the first big domino fall in the free agent picture, as the Seattle Mariners brought back one of their own.
BREAKING: First baseman Josh Naylor and the Seattle Mariners are finalizing a five-year contract, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN. The first major free agent to sign this winter goes back to Seattle, where he was beloved after joining the Mariners in a deadline trade.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 17, 2025
Naylor, 28, was acquired by the Mariners at the trade deadline this season, and helped lead Seattle to the ALCS. In 147 games between Arizona and Seattle, Naylor hit .295 with 20 home runs and a 128 OPS+. Naylor also remarkably stole 30 bases despite being in the bottom 3% of the league in sprint speed. He becomes the first big free agent off the board, cashing in on his big season with a long-term deal to stay in Seattle.
A notorious White Sox killer, Naylor has been largely hated by Sox fans, but the fanbase has grown open to the idea of signing him in recent weeks. I mean if you can’t beat him, sign him. A five-year deal of over $90 million was never going to be doable for the White Sox, however, so the idea that they’d be serious suitors for Naylor was nothing more than a pipe dream. It was nice to dream, but the dream didn’t even survive until Thanksgiving, and the dream will now pivot to a more realistic option.
The White Sox still have a need at first base and a miniscule payroll, so I expect the team to address the position in another way. The free agent class is saturated with first base/DH type players, and the White Sox have already been linked to the market. The team has reportedly been in contact with free agent infielder Ryan O’Hearn, according to 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine. O’Hearn’s asking price is not known and the likelihood of the White Sox getting a deal done is also up in the air, but a left-handed option who can play first base seems to be among the priorities for the White Sox.
Naylor's signing could impact the market for White Sox targets
Although one significant option is off the board, the White Sox were unlikely to be involved, so Naylor’s signing won’t directly impact the White Sox pursuits. It could, however, add more teams to the mix for the players the White Sox could target. Teams that miss out on top options Pete Alonso and Munetaka Murakami, in addition to Naylor, could pivot to options like O’Hearn or Rhys Hoskins, who may be in the White Sox price range. The White Sox may be better off jumping the market and trying to get a deal done before any other teams miss out on their targets and join the competition.
The White Sox should be in a position to add this offseason to improve the team in 2026 and beyond. To what extent is not known, but to expect a Naylor-caliber signing was always a pipe dream. The first domino has fallen and the floodgates are officially open. Let the fun and chaos begin.