The Pittsburgh Pirates have already been linked to a number of high-profile free agents this offseason, including Kyle Schwarber, Pete Alonso and J.T. Realmuto. They’ve yet to sign any so far, but they at least appear to be trying.
One player the Pirates were reportedly seriously interested in was first baseman Josh Naylor, who re-signed with the Seattle Mariners on a five-year, $92.5 million deal earlier this month rather than fully testing the market.
Last week, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Pittsburgh was “primed to spend” roughly $80 million on Naylor — more than double the largest free-agent contract in franchise history.
However, a new report from The Athletic this week revealed that the Pirates were not that close to landing Naylor after all.
“The Pirates never actually made an offer to Naylor, according to people briefed on the discussions,” Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich reported. “Just two weeks after the conclusion of the World Series, Naylor reached agreement with the Seattle Mariners on a five-year contract with an AAV of $18.5 million. The deal happened so quickly, the Pirates did not get seriously involved.”
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Given how quickly Naylor re-signed with the Mariners, Pittsburgh didn’t have much time to negotiate with him or make him a legitimate offer. Perhaps if he had waited or been more interested in the Pirates, he would have entertained an offer from them.
While it’s a disappointing development, Naylor was unusual in how quickly he came off the market. Pittsburgh has more time to engage with other free agents, which hopefully leads to more serious negotiations and ultimately some deals that improve the roster.
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