Naylor and the dog Tucker: The key to their renewal with Mariners

Josh Naylor: A New Chapter with the Seattle Mariners

The player Josh Naylor has found a home in Seattle, and not just on the playing field. After signing a five-year, $92.5 million contract, Naylor expressed his enthusiasm for continuing his career with the Mariners. Naylor’s adaptation to Seattle was facilitated by a special friend: the team’s Labrador retriever, Tucker. “When I knew we had Tucker, I was convinced,” Naylor confessed with a smile.

I always tell the players, or even the kids I work with in the offseason, to play for the kid inside them. Always remember that this is just a game, and they are here to have fun, play hard, and compete.

Josh Naylor

Naylor, who joined the Mariners after a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks, had a significant impact in the 2025 season. In 54 games, he batted .299, hit nine home runs, drove in 33 runs, and stole 19 bases. His generosity and his gesture of giving his shoes to children made him a fan favorite. Last season, Seattle reached the seventh game of the American League Championship Series, demonstrating the team’s potential. Naylor, with an outstanding performance in the postseason, feels that there are unfinished matters in Seattle.

I want to come back to give this fanbase, this city, my teammates, and their families a World Series in the next five years, or multiple World Series, or multiple pennants.

Josh Naylor

Jerry Dipoto, president of baseball operations, is confident that Naylor will be key to winning the franchise’s first World Series, which began in 1977. Dipoto described the decision to bring Naylor back as a simple one, highlighting his fit in the locker room and connection with the fans. Naylor preferred not to test the open market, trusting in the Mariners’ core and the prospect of not facing Seattle’s starting pitchers. Now, he will have the opportunity to bat behind Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez. For Naylor, staying in Seattle means a lot, especially since he became a father. With family present at the press conference, Naylor expressed his desire to settle in the city.

I would really love to spend the rest of my career here and start a family here, and have my family come to Seattle more often and watch baseball games and hopefully win a World Series here.

Josh Naylor

Naylor’s main motivation is to win, something that has characterized his career. “This is not over, in my opinion,” he stated. “We have much more to do and it’s exciting for them, for me, and for the whole city. The teammates we have here, it’s going to be an incredible offseason in my opinion.”