The Seattle Mariners have acquired lefty-batting first baseman Josh Naylor from the Diamondbacks. Arizona gets left-hander Brandyn Garcia and right-hander Ashton Izzi back in the deal. The Diamondbacks announced the trade on Thursday evening.
The move comes a week before the July 31 Major League Baseball trade deadline and likely signals that the Diamondbacks will be strong sellers leading up to the date.
The 28-year-old Naylor this season is slashing .292/.360/.447 (124 OPS+) with 11 home runs in 93 games for Arizona. For his career, he owns an OPS+ of 114 across parts of seven major-league seasons, and over that span he has an OPS of .812 against right-handed pitching. His first and thus far only All-Star selection came in 2024, when he was a member of the Cleveland Guardians.
This season, Naylor is owed the balance of a $10.9 million salary and is eligible for free agency this coming offseason. Because Naylor has now changed teams during the season, he’s ineligible to receive a qualifying offer heading into the winter.
In Seattle, Naylor figures to displace Luke Raley as the primary first baseman — possibly in an ongoing platoon arrangement with Donovan Solano — or he could mix and match and also see time at DH. Whatever the specifics, Naylor’s capacity to handle right-handed pitching will be a boon to the Seattle offense.
The move comes as the Mariners attempt to remain in wild-card position in the American League and also angle to chip away at the Houston Astros’ six-game lead in the AL West. As of Thursday, BetMGM has the Mariners at -200 odds to make the playoffs for the first time since 2022.
On the Arizona side of things, the 25-year-old Garcia is a former 11th-rounder out of Texas A&M. He boasts a big fastball, and he’s gone back and forth between starting duty and relief work in the minors. This season, though, he’s worked exclusively out of the bullpen, including a pair of appearances for the Mariners. Izzi, 21, is a former fourth-round prep draftee. Across parts of three minor-league seasons, he’s put up an ERA of 4.13 in 47 starts with a 1.84 K/BB ratio. This season, he’s mostly struggled in the High-A Northwest League.
As noted above, the Naylor trade suggests more is to come from Arizona, who holds some of the most compelling deadline pieces. The club signaled as much earlier on Thursday. “I think it’s time for us to be responsible enough to improve our team with what we have and with that, let’s enhance our future,” Hall said during a radio appearance on Arizona Sports. “Let’s bring in more assets for us. Let’s rebuild that farm system that has gotten better and better over the years.
“Do we want to sell? No. We all want to buy but I think we have to be realistic and you don’t just make that decision on the final day of the deadline. A lot of preparation goes into it.”
The D-backs had strong designs on contention in 2025, but the loss of ace Corbin Burnes to Tommy John surgery, some back luck, and some under-performances at the individual level have led to their current straits — 5 ½ games out of playoff position in the tough NL and behind multiple teams. As such, Naylor is probably just the start, and the names to follow him out of Arizona figure to be even bigger.