Although the player didn’t change teams in the process, free agency has unofficially begun, as Josh Naylor reportedly signed a five-year deal to remain with the Seattle Mariners, rumored to be in the range of $90 million to $100 million.

It’s a fascinating price for a fascinating player who has evolved in one way after another over the last several years. First, he couldn’t hit lefties. Then he was a liability at first. He solved those well enough, and while he’s still listed at 5’10” and 237 pounds, he’s somehow managed to counter a sprint speed that ranked 565th out of 579 players with a 30-for-32 performance stealing bases, making him a positive baserunner on the whole.

Throw in outstanding plate coverage that makes him one of the most difficult power hitters to strike out, along with a certain on-field charisma that the White Sox have taken the brunt of time and time again, and I can see him being more valuable than his 3.1 WAR would suggest, at least on an annual basis.

The inefficiency might lie in the five-year term, whether it’s because of the way he’s built, or the two-tick drop in his bat speed. Could both hint at an impending decline as Naylor enters his age-29 season? Maybe, but neither has affected his durability or production yet. With the Mariners looking to win now, it makes sense for them to pay what they need for now, regardless of the toll it might take on 2029 or whatever.

Naylor appeared four times in the Offseason Plan Project, and probably would’ve been listed more often if the White Sox showed any inclination to make major investments this winter. The proposed contracts averaged out to an $18.87 million annual salary, which is $94,333,333 over a five-year term, even if our four GMs were only willing to go four years at most.

The White Sox probably dodged a bullet. Less because Naylor’s profile is pumpkin-shaped, and more because if he were indeed designed to take special pleasure in destroying the White Sox, signing a franchise-record contract and doing nothing for it would be a devastating final act.

Spare Parts

Teams must add Rule 5-eligible players to the 40-man roster by 3 p.m. Tuesday, and Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis provide the first building block of a Rule 5 draft shopping list here. They list Shane Murphy as the White Sox’s most difficult decision, but they have five open 40-man spots and only two players who seem like obvious calls, so if they don’t protect Murphy, it’s not because they were squeezed. Speaking of which…

… Eric Longenhagen lumped the White Sox in with the Twins and Astros as teams that are “not very crunchy.”

The feelings are bad! Everybody hates it!

Albany is often referred to by locals as “Smalbany,” a name that cuts both ways, but over my 15 years living there, one of the things I grew to appreciate about its size was that somebody like William Kennedy could be a giant.

The 2026 Olympics will be the first one since 2002 without John Shuster curling in it, which is one helluva run. Danny Casper’s rink won the U.S. Olympic Trials in a thrilling best-of-three series, and advances to the last-chance Olympic qualification event in Kelowna, British Columbia next month. If they win one of the two remaining spots for Milan, Casper’s story will be one NBC will want to tell.