The Seattle Mariners need some offensive help. They have lost productive hitters like Teoscar Hernandez, Eugenio Suarez who they traded to Arizona and Jarred Kelenic who they traded to Atlanta. While, they have been linked to players like Cody Bellinger, Jorge Soler and Rhys Hoskins… there are no guarantees that they sign them. The Mariners have always been more likely to opt for a trade and according to a report by Jon Morosi that sentiment may be true once again. The Mariners have reportedly called the Guardians about Josh Naylor.
Even if the Mariners do land one of those free agent options, Josh Naylor wouldn’t be a bad addition. His bat has taken off over the last two years including 2023 where he slashed .308/.354/.489 with 31 2Bs, 17 HRs and 97 RBIs. The Mariners wanted to reduce the number of strikeouts in their lineup and Naylor would provide a significant improvement over Hernandez in that category. Naylor only struck out 68 times through 452 at-bats. he also boasts a career .295 BAbip, which is just barely above the league average.
If the report is true, then the Mariners have been actively pursuing Naylor since the Winter Meetings. As it stands, Fangraphs projects Taylor Trammell to be the Mariners DH heading into the 2024 season. The Mariners also lost Tom Murphy to the San Francisco Giants in free agency.
Naylor does tend to slump mightily at times, but outside of Jose Ramirez, he was the best offensive weapon that the Guardians had. With Cleveland trending towards a rebuild, they could ask the Mariners for two, maybe three prospects. Given their struggles struggles in the outfield, they could ask for an outfielder as well. The Guardians don’t have to trade Naylor, as he’s under contract through 2025. Trading him now would produce immense value after his strong 2023 campaign, though.
Other reports state that the Mariners may also be interested in trading for Jonathan India. He would be an immediate upgrade to the second base options in-house.
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