The first major move of the 2025 MLB trade deadline arrived Thursday, with a deal that sent Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners, the D-backs announced.
Going back to Arizona in return are pitchers Brandyn Garcia and Ashton Izzi. Garcia made his MLB debut only three days earlier as a reliever, and Izzi is currently playing for the High-A Everett Aquasox. Garcia is ranked 13th on MLB Pipeline’s list of top Mariners prospects, while Izzi is 16th.
Naylor is a pending free agent, so this is a straight-forward rental for the Mariners.
The D-backs acquired Naylor last offseason in a deal that sent pitcher Slade Cecconi and a competitive-balance draft pick to the Cleveland Guardians. That move was made to replace outgoing first baseman Christian Walker, now of the Houston Astros, on an Arizona roster that still held playoff aspirations.
Naylor mostly fulfilled his end of the bargain, slashing .292/.360/.447 with 11 homers in 93 games with Arizona, but the D-backs did not. They currently have a 50-53 record, good for fourth in the NL West and 5.5 games back of a wild card.
Arizona is getting started on selling at the deadline, and the Mariners proved to be a match for Naylor.
What does Josh Naylor bring to the Mariners?
At 54-48 and in the thick of the wild-card race, the Mariners approach the deadline with some clear areas for improvement. First base was one of them.
Since designating Rowdy Tellez for assignment, Seattle has used a platoon of Luke Raley against right-handed pitchers and Donovan Solano against left-handers. Neither player has impressed much, and the Mariners rank 18th in MLB in OPS at the position.
Naylor gives them an every-day bat who could slot in toward the top or in the middle of the lineup.
While his power and exit-velocity numbers leave something to be desired, he remains quite good at getting the bat on the ball, which is something the Mariners could use. Naylor’s 12.4% strikeout rate would be the best among Mariners regulars this season.
That’s one position down for the Mariners. The question is how far they will go, and if they will be going back to the D-backs for another major need.
What of Eugenio Suarez?
Many Mariners fans have been hoping for a reunion with third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who played for the team in 2022 and ’23, to fill a clear hole at the hot corner.
Suarez is among the most sought-after players at the trade deadline, topping Yahoo Sports’ rankings of potential targets. His 36 homers rank fourth in the majors, behind only Cal Raleigh, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.
Adam Jude of the Seattle Times reports that the Mariners plan to remain engaged with the D-backs on Suarez. However, Jon Heyman of the New York Post said the New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs are also interested in the slugger, which suggests a bidding war could be in the works.
Teams have until 6 p.m. on July 31 to make a deal.
What to make of this trade?
The stove is officially hot. Deadline season has arrived. And our first trade couldn’t be more a more fitting opening salvo.
The Diamondbacks, who are sending Naylor to Seattle for a pair of prospects, are likely to be the main character of this year’s deadline. And here, they’ve made a deal with the Mariners, who trade more often than anyone else and are striking quickly to try to take advantage of a wide-open American League field.
It has been a disappointing season in Arizona, with injuries and underperformance on the pitching side the main culprit. But the D-backs have a gaggle of desirable players on expiring contracts — or rentals, in MLB parlance. Naylor is almost certainly just the first to go, with Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly and Eugenio Suárez generating significant buzz.
Naylor, a stocky, 28-year-old first baseman, has been a well-above-average hitter for going on four years now. He makes a ton of contact, rarely strikes out and typically hits the ball hard and in the air enough to post solid power numbers. That said, swing data points to a potential approach change this year, as Naylor appears to have traded some power for contact with a slower swing, fewer homers and a higher batting average. He’ll slot into the top five of Seattle’s lineup alongside JP Crawford, Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena.
To get Naylor, Seattle parted with two pitching prospects. Izzi is a 21-year-old currently in High-A, where he’s both striking out and walking a lot of guys. A high school pick from Illinois in 2022, he’s a slow-burn guy with mid-rotation upside. Garcia is a reliever, but he might be a darn good one. He struck out 28.4% of hitters in the minors this year, earning himself a big-league debut this week. It’s somewhat interesting that the Mariners, flush with well-regarded position-player prospects, opted to deal two arms for Naylor. — Jake Mintz
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