That’s all it took?

Suddenly, Josh Naylor is a Seattle Mariner, the first of several possible additions ahead of the trade deadline. The 28-year-old first baseman is also a certified steal, given the price required to get the deal done:

Left-handed pitcher Brandyn Garcia (Seattle’s No. 13 prospect)

Right-handed pitcher Ashton Izzi (No. 16 prospect)

That isn’t intended as an insult. Garcia specifically was lauded by MLB Pipeline as the Mariners’ top southpaw pitching prospect, and was named the organization’s co-minor league pitcher of the year in 2024. He and Izzi — who was 2-4 with a 5.51 ERA this season in 12 starts for High-A Everett — could develop into productive pieces for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But neither was ready to help the Mariners make an immediate playoff push.

And that, after all, is the mandatory deadline for these maddening Mariners. Not next year (again). Not when the puzzle pieces finally, magically fit. Not when prospects Colt Emerson, Lazaro Montes and Felnin Celestin, etc., are ready … just as Seattle’s homegrown rotation ekes past its prime.

Now.

Ideally, you’d use the deadline to supplement an already robust roster. But the Mariners’ present predicament is not ideal. They’re both inconsistent and unconvincing, stuck in the American League’s mushy middle. They’re also flawed and flimsy at more than first base.

But given the opportunity in an open AL, and given the rotation primed for postseason pushes, and given the million other reasons you’ve already read, the time is ripe to take a risk.

You — the annually devastated, remarkably resilient Mariners fan — deserve an all-in approach. You deserve a determination not to waste catcher Cal Raleigh’s historic season, not to mention decades of time and money you’ve sunk into the same torturous team. You deserve an urgency from president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, who has helped the Mariners to a single postseason appearance in his 10 seasons (and counting) in Seattle. You deserve to escape a Groundhog’s Day of perpetual disappointments.

You deserve more than what the Mariners have just done.

Don’t get me wrong: Naylor — a 5-foot-10, 235-pound Canadian — makes the Mariners better. In a league where strikeouts have skyrocketed and batting averages (remember them?) are analytic afterthoughts, Naylor is a welcome throwback. He’ll arrive in Seattle with a .292/.360/.447 slash line, plus 19 doubles, 11 homers and 59 RBI. His 12.4% strikeout rate sits 13th among qualified hitters, and his 9.4% walk rate is well above the MLB average as well.

Dipoto and Co. do deserve credit for another impactful trade deadline addition, after acquiring standout starter Luis Castillo in 2022 and left fielder Randy Arozarena in 2024.

“We are thrilled to add Josh as we make a push for the Postseason,” Mariners general manager Justin Hollander said in a statement. “Josh’s ability to hit for both average and power is unique and we are excited to not face him anymore.”

Still, there’s a reason that’s all it took, because Naylor may amount to a two-month rental. The former first-round pick and 2024 all-star is a free agent this offseason.

But if he helps stretch two months into three?

Then it’s worth the fee.

The same sentiment should be applied to Eugenio Suárez, Naylor’s former (and future?) teammate. After being shipped from Seattle to Arizona for reliever Carlos Vargas and backup catcher Seby Zavala in 2023, Suárez has made that decision look increasingly silly. The 34-year-old third baseman notched 30 homers and 101 RBI in 2024, before raising the bar in his 12th MLB campaign. The two-time all-star’s 86 RBI lead MLB, and he sits fourth in both homers (36) and slugging percentage (.593).

Yes, Suárez — MLB’s best available bat — will cost an unsettling sum. Yes, there’s no guarantee he’d re-sign this offseason. Yes, he’s 34, an apparently ageless slugger with declining defense. Yes, a reunion would require Dipoto and Co. to admit a monumental mistake.

But the Mariners can afford to bring back Geno. They can’t afford to wait.

That means potentially parting with multiple top-100 prospects. It means pursuing an additional arm to stabilize the bullpen as well. It means (finally) pushing your chips into the middle, leveraging a flourishing farm system that took years — and a two-season “step-back” — to cultivate.

So be it.

That’s the cost of contention.

Thursday’s steal should be celebrated. But to go all in and mean it, Naylor is not enough.