According to a new report from Jeff Passan of ESPN on Tuesday, the Seattle Mariners had a surprising competitor in the Josh Naylor sweepstakes, which the M's ultimately won: The Pittsburgh Pirates.

Nowhere is that clearer than with the unlikeliest of winter spenders: the Pittsburgh Pirates. The largest free agent contract the Pirates have ever handed out was more than a decade ago: three years and $39 million to Francisco Liriano. They are consistently a bottom-five payroll team. And yet the Pirates were primed to spend more than twice that on Josh Naylor before he re-upped with Seattle for five years and $92.5 million in the first signing of the winter on Sunday night ... 

Why would the Pirates do this? 

It actually makes sense, doesn't it? The Pirates have been chastised for years for their lack of spending and chants of "sell the team" infiltrated PNC Park all season.

They also have Paul Skenes, who just won the National League Cy Young Award, and they can't afford to waste another year of his dominance, especially while he's on an affordable contract.

And Naylor would have been the perfect acquisition for them, given that he's an intense veteran who can be a leader in a young clubhouse. Furthermore, the Pirates don't want to spend in the $200 million range, and given that Naylor ended up costing less than $100 million, it would have been good spending without bankrupting themselves.

Why it was important for the M's

Naylor was the key to the entire Mariners offseason, for a number of reasons. He helps solidify the middle of the order, serves as a solid defender, and acts as a leader in the clubhouse. Recently, Cal Raleigh gave him praise as the most valuable player in the Seattle clubhouse.

What else to know

We talked extensively about the Naylor signing on the most recent edition of the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast, and you can listen to the full episode in the player below:

You have a diversity in skillset, a diversity in handedness. Your lineup is deeper, your lineup is tougher to pitch against, and you have guys each that have power and the ability, in some cases, to, to Or all of them have power and all of them have base-running ability, but in Naylor and Julio's, you know, particular skillsets, you have the ability for them to steal bases. This right now makes your lineup better, and it is one of the best top threes, certainly in the American League, if not Major League Baseball.

Josh Naylor is a Mariner And That's All You Need to Know Refuse to Lose - a Seattle Mariners Podcast · Episode

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