Mariners Make Splash For Josh Naylor
Trade season is officially upon us.
The Seattle Mariners completed the first notable move of the summer Thursday night, acquiring first baseman Josh Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for a pair of minor-league pitchers: left-hander Brandyn Garcia and right-hander Ashton Izzi.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the deal, while the M’s confirmed the trade midway through their 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
Naylor, an All-Star last season with the Cleveland Guardians, hit 11 home runs and driven in 59 RBIs while slashing .292/.360/.447 over 93 games with the D-backs after arriving via trade last winter. He’s also accounted for 123 wRC+ (100 league average), a slight improvement from his 119 figure in 2024.
The Mississauga, ON, native avoided arbitration last off-season by agreeing to a one-year, $10.9-million contract and will become a free agent after this season.
“It’s huge,” manager Dan Wilson told reporters post-game Thursday, including MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer. “Looking forward to welcoming Josh into a Mariner uniform. A tremendous player, a tremendous bat, and really looking forward to how he fits into this lineup. It’s going to be a tough lineup, and it makes us so much deeper.”
Acquiring Naylor addresses a major need for Seattle, which has received minuscule production at first base thus far, ranking 19th at the position in both wRC+ (94) and fWAR (0.2). The 28-year-old will assume everyday duties from Luke Raley and Donovan Solano, a duo who’ve shared the full-time role for most of this season.
He’s expected to meet the team in Anaheim on Friday, joining an offence that already features Julio Rodríguez, Cal Raleigh, Randy Arozarena and Jorge Polanco.
Adding a rental bat like Naylor’s came at the price of two mid-tier prospects in Garcia and Izzi – previously ranked Seattle’s No. 13 and No. 16 prospects, respectively, per MLB Pipeline. In return, though, the move further deepens the club’s middle of the order.
Based on Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto’s wheeling-and-dealing history, there’s likely more to come before Thursday’s 6 p.m. ET trade deadline for a club that enters Friday’s slate with the second AL wild-card seed at 55-48.
“This is a good position where we’ve been able to get ourselves into a good spot here in the standings. It’s time to go,” Wilson said. “We get down to the last 59 games here, and we’re excited about where we’re at. … There’s a lot of exciting times — a lot of fun times — ahead of us, and we’re looking forward to that.”
Meanwhile, for a 50-53 D-backs squad, this marks the beginning of a major sell-off. Naylor will likely be the first of many pending free agents moved before next week’s deadline.
Third baseman Eugenio Suárez is expected to be Arizona’s crown jewel on the trade market, presenting the front office’s best chance at landing a significant return. Others slated to be traded include starters Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, as well as reliever Shelby Miller.
They’re officially open for business, which means anyone other than core players like Corbin Carroll and Ketel Marte could be up for grabs.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Erik Drost. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.