Josh Naylor re-signed with the Mariners with one goal in mind: ‘Winning is everything’

It would be difficult to overstate the significance of the Mariners’ trade for Josh Naylor last summer.

He was the right player at the right time at just the right spot, and he almost immediately transformed the Mariners from playoff hopeful to legitimate World Series contender.

More than Naylor’s value as a middle-of-the-order slugger and steady first baseman, it was his presence in the clubhouse and his instant connection with the fan base that ultimately sold the Mariners front office on making him their No. 1 priority as he entered free agency this past winter.

That the Mariners were able to re-sign him to a five-year, $92.5-million contract could turn out to be the most important free-agent deal Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander will make as the head of M’s baseball operations.

“You don’t know the way a guy is going to affect your clubhouse, your room, until they’re in it,” said Dipoto, the club president. “That part we could never have anticipated it being as impactful as what it is with Josh.”

As the Mariners celebrate their 50th season, the club is asking fans to vote on the best 50 players in franchise history.

Dipoto playfully wondered aloud how high Naylor will rank on that list, even though Naylor’s only played in Seattle for a mere three months at the end of last season.

“It feels like he’s been here for 10 years, you know? It’s pretty remarkable,” Dipoto said.

The new contract for Naylor came together right away at the start of the offseason. It was pretty simple: Naylor wanted to be in Seattle, and the Mariners wanted him.

“We could have given free agency more of a shot. We could have tried to get a little bit more money, but I don’t really care about the money at that point,” Naylor said. “I just wanted to be with my friends and be with players who I know are gonna give 100% every single day and not look back.”

A first-round draft pick by the Miami Marlins in 2015, Naylor would go on to be traded four times over the next decade, a harsh reality of the business side of pro baseball that can harden any ballplayer.

After arriving in Seattle in the July 24 trade from Arizona, Naylor assimilated quickly in Seattle, and the fan base soon fell in love with him. Some fans began showing up to games dressed up in captains hats, calling themselves “Naylor’s Sailors.”

Naylor and his wife, who became parents for the first time during the Mariners’ playoff run last October, discovered a new home.

“It’s kind of hard to describe because, yeah, I’ve been in a ton of different places, and now we have some (stability),” he said. “… It’s a blessing, and my wife and I are so thankful. My family’s so thankful for this opportunity. Now we can just play baseball, not worry about everything outside of it.”

The fervor surrounding the Mariners’ first AL West title since 2001, and their run to Game 7 of the ALCS, convinced Naylor he was where he belonged.

“I enjoyed going to the ballpark every single day,” Naylor said. “I told my wife, like: ‘I can’t wait to leave the house and see the guys. And no offense to you, I love you, but I just can’t wait to see the guys and go try to win a ballgame tonight.’ I had so much fun playing the game again.”

Naylor, 28, joins Cal Raleigh, 29, and Julio Rodríguez, 25, as the Mariners’ position-player core, all signed through the end of the decade.

They’ve raised the bar for what the Mariners want to be.

“We’ve got to go above and beyond now, do everything we can to get to that World Series and win it,” Naylor said. “It’s that mentality here. Winning is everything, and if you’re not doing something to help us get to that winning stage today, you didn’t really have a successful day, in our opinion as a whole.

“We try to get 1% better, drop 1% in that bucket every day. Come to the ballpark prepared to work and prepared to learn, to grow, do everything you can to be a little bit better than you were yesterday, to get to that World Series, because what you do in March, April, May is going to dictate September and October.”