The Seattle Mariners are making their move with one week to go before the trade deadline.
Seattle has acquired star first baseman Josh Naylor in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Jeff Passan of ESPN reported on Thursday. Arizona is getting back a pair of pitching prospects (LHP Brandyn Garcia, 25, and RHP Ashton Izzi, 21) in exchange for Naylor, 28.
Naylor is a big bat who was an All-Star in 2024 with the Cleveland Guardians. He hit 31 home runs with 108 RBIs that year. This year, Naylor’s power numbers have taken a hit (11 home runs and 59 RBIs through 93 games), but he is at least now hitting for better average (.292 compared to .243 last season).
The lefty-hitting Naylor was an expected trade candidate as he is in the final year of his current contract. Arizona is quickly going nowhere this season as well at 50-53 in a very difficult NL West division.
As for the Mariners, they have a good shot at making the playoffs with a record of 54-48 (currently good for the No. 2 Wild Card spot in the AL). Naylor is a major upgrade over their current first-base platoon of Donovan Solano and Luke Raley.
Additionally, Naylor can hypothetically slot in at outfield and DH positions for Seattle as well. Naylor was once trolled by the Mariners during a game, but now he finds himself as the latest member of their team as Seattle looks to clinch just their second playoff berth since 2001.
