Trade rumor links Mariners to Cleveland’s All-Star first baseman

Dec 19, 2024, 10:58 AM | Updated: 11:21 am

Seattle Mariners Josh Naylor Cleveland Guardians trade rumors...

Cleveland's Josh Naylor flips his bat after a home run against the Seattle Mariners on April 1, 2024. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

(Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

BY BRENT STECKER

Editor, Seattle Sports

There’s a new name to consider for a potential Seattle Mariners trade this offseason.

MLB Network insider Jon Morosi reported on social media Thursday that All-Star first baseman Josh Naylor “has been mentioned in trade talks” that the Mariners have had with the Cleveland Guardians.

Sources: Josh Naylor has been mentioned in trade talks between the Guardians and Mariners. He’s one of multiple names under consideration by the Mariners for an offensive upgrade at 1B.@MLBNetwork @SeattleSports

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 19, 2024

The Mariners have clear needs in their lineup, and open spots in their infield to fill them, so Naylor makes plenty of sense as a potential target for Seattle.

The 27-year-old Naylor is a lefty-swinging slugger who made his first All-Star team in 2024. He finished the year with a career-high 31 home runs and 108 RBIs, as well as a slash line of .243/.320/.456 for a .776 OPS and a 1.5 fWAR in 152 games. The 5-foot-11, 250-pound Canadian had a big start to last season, posting a .922 OPS with 12 homers in his first 41 games.

Naylor’s best season in terms of fWAR was 2023 when finished with a 2.5 mark after slashing .308/.354/.489 for an .842 OPS with 17 homers, 97 RBIs, 31 doubles and 10 stolen bases.

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In 2023, Naylor was fifth in the American League in batting average, and in 2024 he was 10th in the AL in home runs. He also was eighth in RBIs in 2023 and sixth in 2024.

Though he’s primarily a first baseman, Naylor has played a combined 145 games in right field and left field in the big leagues, though those outfield appearances mostly came before 2023.

The Mariners’ options at first base are currently thin, led by Luke Raley, who played 41 games at the position in 2024 but is primarily an outfielder. Seattle has been linked this offseason to veteran first basemen Justin Turner and Carlos Santana, both of whom are free agents who had successful stints with the M’s in recent years.

Per Spotrac, Naylor is estimated to make $14.2 million in 2025, his last year of arbitration eligibility before hitting free agency for the first time.

In recent seasons with Cleveland, he has played alongside his brother, catcher Bo Naylor. They as well as a third brother, Athletics prospect Myles Nayor, were all first-round MLB Draft selections, with Josh Naylor the highest pick of the trio as the No. 12 overall selection in 2015 by the Miami Marlins.

Naylor is no stranger to being involved in big trades. In 2016, he was sent along with current Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo from Miami to San Diego in a six-player deal. And in 2020, the Padres traded him to Cleveland in a nine-player swap.

He broke into the majors with San Diego in 2019 at 22 years old, and played his first full MLB season in 2022 with the Guardians.

Naylor made a good impression at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park early in 2024, hitting his first homer of the year in a series opener on April 1. That was part of a 7-for-19 start with three hits for extra bases in the opening five games of Cleveland’s season.

The trade route has looked to be the most likely path for the Mariners to improve their offense, and the aforementioned Castillo has come up in recent trade rumors as a player that Seattle is reportedly listening to offers on. Additionally, during MLB’s annual winter meetings earlier this month, M’s president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto spoke about the team being “very aggressive” in discussing the high-end prospects of their highly ranked farm system.

MLB Network insider Jon Morosi is a weekly guest on Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob. Hear his conversation with host Dave Wyman and Bob Stelton from Wednesday in the podcast at this link or in the player below.