SEATTLE — Jerry Dipoto has a longstanding popularity for jump-starting the Commerce Deadline market, and the Mariners’ president of baseball operations certainly sparked this 12 months’s traction, with the primary main domino falling to Seattle on Thursday evening.
The Mariners acquired veteran first baseman Josh Naylor from the D-backs, and the return options two of Seattle’s Prime 30 prospects, per MLB Pipeline. Naylor is anticipated to hitch the Mariners on Friday evening in Anaheim.
TRADE DETAILSMariners obtain: 1B Josh NaylorD-backs obtain: LHP Brandyn Garcia (Seattle’s No. 13 prospect), RHP Ashton Izzi (No. 16 prospect)
Naylor, 28, is ready to be a free agent at season’s finish and was a Mariners goal over the offseason earlier than he was traded from Cleveland to Arizona. He’s incomes $10.9 million this 12 months and is hitting .292 with an .807 OPS, 11 dwelling runs and 59 RBIs in 93 video games. He’ll be injected instantly as a middle-order lefty presence round Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez and Randy Arozarena, one who the Mariners hope will fortify a lineup that’s quietly been way more productive over the previous six weeks.
“It’s large,” Mariners supervisor Dan Wilson stated in Anaheim, the place his membership downed the Angels, 4-2. “Wanting ahead to welcoming Josh right into a Mariner uniform. An incredible participant, an amazing bat, and actually trying ahead to how he matches into this lineup. It’s going to be a tricky lineup, and it makes us a lot deeper.”
This transfer is doubtlessly simply the primary for the Mariners.
Sources aware of the Mariners’ pondering additionally stated the membership remains to be aggressively pursuing D-backs third baseman Eugenio Suárez, who’s arguably the market’s prime accessible bat. And the very fact Arizona has begun its sell-off by dealing Naylor means that Arizona is open for enterprise and engaged with the Mariners.
Suárez can be producing excessive curiosity from different contending golf equipment such because the Yankees, Cubs and Tigers — all of whom want a 3rd baseman, which is the place of clearest want in Seattle, as properly.
Suárez, whom Seattle traded to Arizona in a cost-cutting transfer in the course of the 2023-24 offseason, is anticipated to internet a a lot loftier prospect package deal than that of Naylor. The Mariners — with eight Prime 100 prospects within the MLB Pipeline rankings — are in place to be one among this 12 months’s boldest consumers.
The Mariners are additionally searching for at the very least one leverage arm to bridge their bullpen to Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz for lockdown innings, sources have stated.
“This can be a good place the place we’ve been in a position to get ourselves into a great place right here within the standings. It’s time to go,” Wilson stated. “We get all the way down to the final 59 video games right here, and we’re enthusiastic about the place we’re at. … There’s a number of thrilling instances — a number of enjoyable instances — forward of us, and we’re trying ahead to that.”
The Mariners are 5 video games behind Houston for first place within the American League West and maintain the second AL Wild Card spot. The entrance workplace has a inexperienced gentle from possession to extend spending down the stretch, sources have stated. By how a lot stays unclear.
Naylor will earn roughly $4 million by means of the tip of this season and Suárez, on an expiring $15 million contract, remains to be due roughly $5 million. Seattle’s projected year-end 40-man roster payroll was at round $151 million, per Cots Baseball Contracts, which is about $5 million greater than final 12 months.
Suárez has generated essentially the most buzz on this commerce season, nevertheless it’s attainable Naylor would possibly find yourself being the second-best bat moved earlier than the Deadline at 3 p.m. PT on July 31.
An All-Star in 2024, when he set profession highs in homers (31) and RBIs (108), Naylor additionally possesses sound plate self-discipline and make contact with, with a 12.4% Okay charge that ranks Thirteenth-best amongst certified hitters this 12 months. That might be a boon for an offense that struck out with extra regularity than any workforce from 2023-24 however has improved in that context in ’25.
Naylor has been much better towards righties (.883 OPS) than lefties (.655 OPS) however ought to nonetheless earn on a regular basis reps at first base, the place Luke Raley and Donovan Solano have been in a timeshare for a lot of the summer season. Seattle has gathered simply 0.3 wins above alternative at first base, per FanGraphs, tied for Eleventh-fewest, whereas Naylor has been price 1.4, tied for Eleventh-most.
Raley, who additionally hits lefty, probably will see extra motion in proper area now, although that’s additionally the place Dominic Canzone has settled into an on a regular basis position whereas producing higher than at any level in his profession (.865 OPS). That would result in a roster crunch, maybe even earlier than the Deadline passes, provided that Jorge Polanco has emerged as their major designated hitter.
Including influence offense has been a precedence all summer season, even with Raleigh rising as a authentic AL MVP candidate and the group as a complete displaying extra manufacturing than the wildly inconsistent teams from 2023-24.
Seattle entered Friday ranked fifth in wRC+ (113, the place league common is 100), sixth in homers (139), tied for eighth in OPS (.735) and tied for tenth in runs scored (470). It’s really been their beginning pitching that has skilled extra hiccups than anticipated after possessing the game’s greatest rotation final season.
Naylor additionally has 19 video games of postseason expertise, which might be essentially the most on Seattle’s roster behind Arozarena (33 video games), who was the membership’s splashy Deadline acquisition final 12 months — when Dipoto additionally jumped the market by buying him on July 25.
Garcia was among the many group’s fastest-rising pitchers final season, to the purpose the place the membership transitioned him from a starter to reliever in 2025 for him to assist the large league roster. Izzi was promoted to Everett this 12 months from Single-A Modesto and has a 5.51 ERA in 12 begins. He was signed considerably over slot, for $1.1 million, after being drafted to pry him away from his dedication to Wichita State College.
