Seattle Mariners stars Cal Raleigh and Josh Naylor were both out in the community on Saturday afternoon, with Raleigh attending the University of Washington football game against No. 6 Oregon and Naylor attending the Seattle Kraken hockey game against Edmonton.

Naylor received a massive ovation when shown on the jumbotron.

On the surface, it's nice for these players to want to be a part of the local scene in the offseason. Naylor, a Canada native, is a big hockey fan, and is frequently seen wearing a custom Mariners hockey jersey.

But under the surface? These interactions show just how popular the Mariners are right now and how much the 2025 season resonated with people.

This was Raleigh's second appearance at a Huskies game this season, as he, Bryan Woo, Emerson Hancock and Julio Rodriguez all went to the September showdown against No. 1 Ohio State at Husky Stadium. The fact that the Huskies view him as a community icon that they want at their highest-profile games is a big deal.

And with regards to Naylor, the ovation he got shows just how much people respected his 2.5-month tenure with the M's in 2025 - and how much they love his decision to re-up on a five-year deal.

After making the playoffs in 2022, the Mariners failed to capitalize on fan momentum, putting together lackluster offseasons and missing the playoffs in both 2023 and 2024. They'd be wise to recognize what's in front of them right now and work toward getting back to the American League Championship Series (and beyond) in 2026.

Signing Naylor is certainly a good start to those goals, but the Mariners have more work to do. They have continued to be connected to incumbent free agents Eugenio Suarez and Jorge Polanco, while they also need to get to work on finding a bullpen arm or two to supplement the back-end quartet of Andres Munoz, Gabe Speier, Eduard Bazardo and Matt Brash.

Things to know

We should start seeing announcements on the World Baseball Classic rosters soon. Raleigh has already confirmed that he will play for Team USA at the event, which takes place in March.

Several other Mariners could participate including Julio Rodriguez (Dominican Republic), Matt Brash (Canada) and Randy Arozarena (Mexico).

All three of those players have played in the event before, and Andres Munoz (Mexico), Naylor (Canada) and Luis Castillo (Dominican Republic) could join them. Woo, Logan Gilbert and George Kirby could each be candidates for Team USA's pitching staff.

Top prospect Michael Arroyo is expected to play for Colombia.

Related Mariners Stories

LATEST PODCAST IS OUT: Brady Farkas is back for the the latest episode of the Refuse to Lose podcast! He covers the Josh Naylor news from every angle including the message it sends to the clubhouse and fanbase. Also, what's next for Seattle? LISTEN HERE:

BIG MAPLE GETS BIG HONOR: James Paxton is set to receive a big honor from Baseball Canada early in 2026. CLICK HERE: 

HOW WILL WOO BE VIEWED?: Bryan Woo was the ace in 2025, but is he seen as the ace moving forward? CLICK HERE:

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