For a few months in 2025, Arizona had themselves a capable, star-power first baseman.
Overview
- Rating: 7.73
- 2025 Stats AZ (MLB): 394 (604) PA, .292 (.295) AVG, 11 (20) HR, 59 (92) RBI, .807 (.816) OPS, 123 (128) OPS+, 0.8 (3.1) bWAR
- Date of Birth: 22 June 1997 (age 28 season)
- 2025 Earnings: $10,900,000
- 2026 Status: Signed with Seattle Mariners on a 5-yeara/$92.5 million deal on 17 November 2025
2025 Review
When the 2024 season came to a close, so did Christian Walker’s tenure as an all-star caliber first baseman. To counter this loss, Mike Hazen got aggressive. Before Christmas even rolled around, Hazen made a trade with the Cleveland Guardians. Mike Hazen sent pitching prospect, Slade Cecconi and his six years of control to Ohio in exchange for one year of service from 2024 all-star first baseman, Josh Naylor.
While Naylor did not bring the big bop usually associated with big first baseman, he did bring a capable bat. He was largely a .300 hitter during his time in Arizona. He also was adept at taking his walks. Naylor’s plate discipline resulted in a robust OBP that Arizona used to drive its often league-leading offense. In somewhat poetic fashion, Naylor’s best performance of 2025 came on 9 June against the Seattle Mariners.
After Merrill Kelly threw six shutout innings, Arizona’s leaky bullpen coughed up the lead by allowing four runs in the ninth inning. That took the game into extras. In the eleventh inning, Josh Naylor came to bat with the bases juiced and one out to face Carlos Vargas. With the count 1-2, Naylor launched the third walk-off grand slam in franchise history. This win wound up staunching the bleeding from the poorly handled Cincinnati series. The win lifted the Diamondbacks back to only two games below .500 and kicked off a five-game winning streak that ended up muddying the waters when it came time to evaluate Arizona’s trade deadline strategy.
The Diamondbacks then proceeded to go 9-16 over the next 25 games, spiraling out of contention rapidly. The result was that Josh Naylor was then traded, to the same Seattle Mariners that he previously abused. In exchange for two months of Naylor’s service, the Mariners sent left-handed reliever, Brandyn Garcia and right-handed pitching prospect, Ashton Izzi to the Diamondbacks. After the trade, Naylor’s mood and attitude improved significantly. He also went off on something of an offensive tear – on the basepaths, despite being one of the three or four slowest base runners in all of baseball. With four multi-steal games, Naylor ended up swiping 19 bags for Seattle, bringing his season total to 30. He also hit nine more bombs for the Mariners en route to a 138 OPS+. Joined later by Eugenio Suarez, the pair helped Seattle reach the playoffs and to nearly go the World Series. Naylor went 16-for-47 with three home runs across 12 games.
2026 and Beyond
Naylor’s brief stint with Seattle was a transformative one, both for Naylor and Mariners. No time was wasted once the season was over. Seattle was quick to wrap up Naylor’s services for the foreseeable future, handing him a five-year deal. By the time the contract is up, he will have completed his age 33 season. With so much to happen between now and then, it is nearly impossible to predict what will happen with Naylor by then.
Category: General Sports
