Vitamin SEA: Josh Naylor!
The Mariners strike first at the trade deadline
Josh Naylor is a Seattle Mariner!
I was sitting at my computer working on my next post about the trade deadline and the past week of Mariners baseball when my phone buzzed with a Jeff Passan tweet. Now, that post is going to have to be a little late, as there are more pressing items to talk about suddenly.
Josh Naylor is a massive pickup for the Mariners for a number of reasons. He provides an immediate boost to a stagnant first base spot currently held by a combination of Luke Raley and Donovan Solano. Naylor is slashing .292/.360/.447 with 11 home runs, and even if his stats are helped by Arizona’s hitter friendly park, he should still be able to be productive at T-Mobile Park. The Mariners needed a fresh bat and a solid contact guy, and Naylor perfectly fits the bill. In addition to his on-field production, his fiery confidence and explosive personality will be a fun addition to the lineup. I can’t wait to see him charging through the dugout after home runs and dangerously wielding the home run trident.
Trading for him over a week before the deadline is an unappreciated boon, as the Mariners get an extra week of him in the deal, another ~10% of time. It also shows how aggressive the Mariners are willing to be in this deadline, as the reports that have been circulating about the team being “all in” seem to be confirmed. Daniel Kramer reported yesterday that even after the Naylor trade, “Eugenio Suarez is still Seattle’s top priority and being aggressively pursued by the Mariners”. Naylor should not be the only player that Seattle brings in during this deadline, and it is clear that they remain squarely in the hunt to bring Geno home.
The return for Naylor was LHP Brandyn Garcia and RHP Ashton Izzi. Garcia made a brief appearance on the big-league roster before the trade, and I actually met his family briefly in the Mariners Team Store (they were buying custom jerseys of his, which actually I feel bad about now that he got immediately traded). Garcia has a 2.24 ERA in High-A and AA, but had a rough first outing for the major league team. Izzi has a 5.51 ERA in High-A so far, but 54 strikeouts in 47 innings.
The big win in this trade for the Mariners was that they did not have to dip into any of their top 10 prospects to get this deal done. If they do manage to get Suarez however, they will almost certainly have to deal at least one of them. This comes with great news on the Geno market in that the Yankees just traded for Rockies third baseman Ryan McMahon, putting them out of the running for Suarez.
The deadline should not be over for Seattle, even if they do get Suarez. The Mariners are in great need of a bullpen arm, and a hot start to this trade deadline gives fans like me confidence that they are going all in this next week.
Go M’s,
Henry “I’m glad the Yankees didn’t get Geno” Neiman