Jay Buhner raves about new Seattle Mariners 1B Josh Naylor

Of the three players the Seattle Mariners picked up before the MLB trade deadline late last month, first baseman Josh Naylor has had the biggest immediate impact.

He’s also been the most interesting.

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One reason for that is his personality, which is a bit more serious than has been the norm in this era of baseball. Then there’s the completely unexpected fact that he has turned into Rickey Henderson since joining the M’s, stealing 10 bases on 10 attempts in 12 games for Seattle.

Josh Naylor is the first @MLB player with 10+ stolen bases in his first 12 games with a franchise since Billy Hamilton for the Cincinnati Reds from Sept. 3-25, 2013.

— Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) August 7, 2025

Making it all the more surprising, Naylor had 11 steals on 13 attempts in 93 games this year with Arizona prior to the trade, and that was already his career-high total. Since his first game with the M’s on July 25, his 10 steals lead all of baseball, four more than the two players tied for second. On the season, he’s now tied with three other players – including teammates Randy Arozarena and Julio Rodríguez – for 14th in MLB with 21 steals.

Naylor’s newfound ability to swipe bags may be related to his seriousness. And Mariners Hall of Fame member Jay Buhner is here for it.

“He shows up to the ballpark, and when he’s on the bench, he’s constantly watching the game. Constantly,” said Buhner, who is a regular in the Mariners announce booth, to Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk on Thursday morning. “He’s picking up if (the pitcher has) a slide step, where he is on the rubber, how fast his time (pitching to the plate) is, has he got a high leg kick? There’s so many things that come into play. Not only that, he’s watching how he’s pitching to the guy ahead of him, what’s going on in the game.”

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That’s why Naylor has been able to take not just second base but also third multiple times already for the Mariners despite ranking in the bottom 3% for sprint speed among MLB players.

“He gets out on the base paths, he gets that little walking lead, if they don’t stop him he’s gone,” Buhner said. “You know, when you got a walking lead, your momentum’s going – pretty much anybody can get there for the most part. He’s not afraid to take a chance, which is awesome. … He’s just one of those guys, he gets it. He just knows how to steal a bag. And not only that, he’s stealing third base too, which is even more impressive, man.

“It’s so fun to see a guy like that, that you look at and he doesn’t have your prototypical base-stealing body – let’s just be honest – but he can pick ’em up, put ’em down.”

“Everybody knows he’s a gamer”

Naylor’s contributions for the M’s haven’t been limited to his running. He already has three homers – including a 450-foot blast Wednesday night – and is slashing .273/.333/.500 for an .833 OPS for the M’s, and his 0.6 bWAR in those 12 games is already nearing the 0.8 bWAR he produced in 93 games for Arizona.

Even with plenty of reason to celebrate, Naylor has remained businesslike on the field. Buhner has no problem with that, saying that Naylor reminds him of a lot of the players from his generation.

“Not trying to be that old guy, but that’s how a lot of the guys were,” Buhner said. “It’s how everybody used to carry themselves. You show up for work, you play hard. There was a time and place to smile and have fun, but usually when you stepped across the line and in between the lines, it’s all work.

“That’s what I love about it, especially when he hit his first home run and they handed him the pitchfork (trident) and he looked at it – if you could read his lips, it was pretty comical. I think he had a little more fun with it the other day. You know, you need somebody like that to kick a guy in the butt but also be able to pat a guy on the back. And that’s what’s awesome about him.”

The serious personality of Naylor, who spent five years with the Cleveland Guardians before an offseason trade after the 2024 season to the Diamondbacks, doesn’t seem to get in the way of him connecting with his teammates.

“I mean, if you look around the league and you talk to anybody, especially anybody over with the Guardians and some of the places he’s played and his reputation around the league, everybody knows he’s a gamer,” Buhner said. “He’s great in the clubhouse, everybody loves him. He’s one of the best teammates you’ll ever have. And if you look at his numbers, they speak for themselves.

“… It’s just good to have him in that lineup.”

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