The Cleveland Guardians will not be reunited with their former first baseman, Josh Naylor.

Understanding that the Guardians should be seeking some power in their lineup this offseason, many had connected the dots between Cleveland and Naylor as he hit free agency.

But on Sunday night, Naylor agreed to a five-year contract extension with the Seattle Mariners.

Naylor was traded last offseason from the Guardians to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Slade Cecconi. But when the Diamondbacks struggled, they flipped Naylor to the Mariners to help their American League Playoff push.

The Mariners, fueled by Naylor’s bat, were eliminated in Game 7 of the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Mariners made Naylor their top priority this offseason. While this will surely upset Guardians fans who remember Naylor for his passionate leadership, the report indicates that the Mariners fell in love with the veteran’s positive energy.

“His excellence down the stretch got him a long-term deal to join Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez and the Mariners’ rotation as a foundational piece,” Passan reported. “His energy was infectious. Seattle didn’t want to lose it.”

The Guardians traded Naylor as he was entering the final year of his deal. The club had just traded for Kyle Manzardo, who was primed to take a bigger role in 2025.

But Naylor’s absence was felt all season long. When the team fell 15.5 games back to the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central, many pointed to the lack of offensive production in the lineup outside of Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez.

Ironically, in the MLB Playoffs against the Tigers, Cleveland’s lack of offense was evident again and ultimately resulted in another postseason exit.

In 2024, Naylor batted in 108 runs for the Guardians. That production was sorely missed.

In 2025, his 92 RBI with the Diamondbacks and the Mariners would have led the Guardians.

While Naylor’s monetary earnings have not yet been reported for this five-year deal, Cleveland’s conservative ownership likely would not have wanted to pony up a big check. Remember, that’s part of the reason why Naylor was traded in the first place.

This offseason, the Guardians are going to have to get crafty to improve their team. The Blue Jays proved that Guards Ball could work on a World Series stage because of their dominant starting pitching and smart base running.

But unless the Guardians find more offensive support, they are not going to be serious World Series contenders despite having two aces with Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams.