The Pittsburgh Pirates never actually made this contract offer like it was initially reported.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have maintained that they want to spend money this offseason, a stark change for a franchise that rarely opens its wallet.
As of right now, the largest free-agent contract the Pirates have ever signed was the three-year, $39 million deal it handed pitcher Francisco Liriano a decade ago.
But with Pittsburgh facing pressure to increase its payroll due to revenue sharing, not to mention Paul Skenes making it clear he wants to see some improvement, the Pirates may ultimately end up shattering their previous record this winter.
A report even surfaced that Pittsburgh offered Josh Naylor a five-year, $78 million contract before the star first baseman ended up inking a five-year, $92.5 million pact to stay with the Seattle Mariners.
It was seen as a rather flimsy attempt at "trying" by the Pirates, as it was very clear Naylor wouldn't accept such a deal, especially with a stronger offer from a far better team on the table.
However, that was evidently a false report, via Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic.
"The Pirates never actually made an offer to Naylor, according to people briefed on the discussions," Rosenthal and Drellich wrote. "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."
So perhaps Pittsburgh did plan on attempting to nab Naylor, but never really got the chance because he re-signed with the Mariners so quickly.
Naylor absolutely would have been a terrific get for the Buccos, who were the worst offensive team in baseball this past season.
General manager Ben Cherington has said that the Pirates will be pursuing bats in the coming weeks, and Pittsburgh has already been connected to Kyle Schwarber on the open market.
Whether or not the Pirates are actually able to get anything significant done remains to be seen. Schwarber seems overly ambitious, but there are definitely some realistic options available for them in free agency.
Was Naylor one of them? Probably not.