{"id":92428,"date":"2024-12-19T14:57:56","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T19:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=92428"},"modified":"2024-12-19T15:02:51","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T20:02:51","slug":"mariners-guardians-trade-talks-josh-naylor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/12\/19\/mariners-guardians-trade-talks-josh-naylor\/","title":{"rendered":"Mariners Could Pursue Power-Hitting First Baseman in Proposed Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trade rumors are intensifying around Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor<\/a>.\u00a0Jon Morosi from MLB Network<\/a> reported that Naylor “has been mentioned in trade talks<\/a>” between the Guardians and the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners are one of the few teams actively seeking an upgrade at first base. At 27 years old, Naylor is entering the final year of team control and could become a free agent after the 2025 season. <\/span><\/p>\n

The only way a Naylor trade makes sense is if it makes the major league roster better. <\/span>If any deal comes to the table that’s a step back for Cleveland, they’re better off keeping Naylor on the roster. Naylor is projected to earn $12 million this coming season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Guardians, Mariners Discuss Josh Naylor Trade<\/h2>\n

The Guardians did re-sign<\/a> right-hander Shane Bieber<\/a> and intend on contending in 2025. However, their routine of trading quality veterans for young talent while trying to field a winning team is nothing new here. Cleveland did trade Andres Gimenez<\/a> and his contract that turned into a three-team trade<\/a>. The Guardians landed hard-throwing right-hander Luis Ortiz<\/a> from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Even if the Guardians part with Naylor, their expected payroll will go from $97 million to $85 million while allowing Kyle Manzardo<\/a> playing time at first base – and potentially create room for other free-agent additions.<\/p>\n

The Mariners have a clear need to strengthen their lineup, particularly in the infield. Josh Naylor would be an ideal addition to Seattle, especially after Justin Turner<\/a> reached free agency. Turner was the team’s primary first baseman after being acquired in a trade before the deadline. Naylor, a left-handed power hitter, made his first All-Star team in 2024, finishing the season with a career-high 31 home runs and 108 RBI. He ended the year with an impressive slash line of .243\/.320\/.456 over 152 games.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seattle has Luke Raley<\/a> as an option at first base. However, he could also mix into the outfield and at designated hitter. Prospect Tyler Locklear<\/a> is ready for a look at the major league level, but a contention-hopeful Mariners team might not want to rush him too soon.<\/p>\n

Alternative Options Besides Naylor<\/h3>\n

The Mariners are actively exploring ways to strengthen their roster, particularly focusing on upgrades to the first base position. With interest in players like Turner and Carlos Santana<\/a>, the organization is prioritizing immediate improvements that could enhance their competitiveness. Depending on the decisions made for first and third base, internal options such as Dylan Moore<\/a>, Ryan Bliss<\/a>, and Cole Young may provide viable solutions for second base. Seattle’s strategic moves will be critical in shaping their lineup for the upcoming season.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: \u00a9 Jeff Lange \/ USA TODAY NETWORK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trade rumors are intensifying around Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor.\u00a0Jon Morosi from MLB Network reported that Naylor “has been mentioned in trade talks” between the Guardians and the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners are one of the few teams actively seeking an upgrade at first base. At 27 years old, Naylor is entering the final […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3686,"featured_media":92433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,9,1071],"tags":[3903,28399,5049,4144,435,6524,6213,1856,6514],"class_list":["post-92428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mariners","category-guardians","category-mlb","tag-andres-gimenez","tag-cole-young","tag-dylan-moore","tag-josh-naylor","tag-justin-turner","tag-kyle-manzardo","tag-luis-ortiz","tag-luke-raley","tag-ryan-bliss"],"modified_by":"Matt Graves","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3686"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92428"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":92431,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92428\/revisions\/92431"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}