Rarely does it work like this.
Whenever MLB reporters break news of a free agent signing, there’s a dollar amount attached.
But not with Josh Naylor.
The Seattle Mariners’ first baseman agreed to a five-year deal to stay in the Pacific Northwest, which was reported by a number of local and national reporters on Sunday.
A day later, though, no salary has been put out, other than a circulating concept that it’ll come in between $90 million and $100 million.
The short answer is that it’s not clear. There’s certainly a reason behind the scenes, but it’s not one publicly known.
It’s likely a couple of factors.
It first seems like Naylor just wanted to affirm his commitment to the Mariners as soon as possible. Maybe they’re still working out some details, but he didn’t plan on going anywhere.
Seattle could also be in negotiations with its other free agent hitters, Eugenio Suarez and Jorge Polanco. There’s a chance the Mariners and Naylor are trying to make sure they can keep as much of the band together as possible and are waiting to finalize the final dollars in case a few bucks help keep someone else.
Regardless, the timing is a bit weird. It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes for a Naylor salary to be reported.
Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle