The Cleveland Guardians have looked into trading Josh Naylor throughout the MLB offseason. Naylor has had some solid seasons in Cleveland, but the Guardians have retooled a bit as seen by the Anders Gimenez trade. On Saturday night, a Naylor trade finally came to fruition, sending him to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Naylor is off to the Diamondbacks, as first reported by New York Post’s Jon Heyman. The Guardians, meanwhile, received a player and a draft pick in return. Cleveland received right-handed starter Slade Cecconi and a Competitive Balance Round B pick, Heyman also reported.
Naylor broke out during the 2022 MLB season, hitting 20 home runs and 79 RBI during that season. In 2023, he stepped his game up a bit despite hitting three fewer home runs. Naylor’s performance with the Guardians even earned him some MVP votes, according to Baseball Reference.
Naylor reached another level in 2024, though. The 27-year-old hit a career-high 31 home runs for the Guardians in 2024. He slashed .243/.320/.456 in 152 games while walking 58 times and striking out on 105 occasions.
The Diamondbacks needed a new first baseman for the 2025 season. Arizona saw veteran Christian Walker leave in MLB Free Agency. Walker signed a three-year contract with the Houston Astros on Friday.
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The Diamondbacks had an internal option in Pavin Smith. The 29-year-old is a former top-10 pick from the 2017 MLB Draft. He has played north of 360 games in MLB to this point. However, Smith has just one season as a starting player under his belt, which came back in 2021.
The Diamondbacks have sought to add to their roster after narrowly missing the playoffs. Arizona knew adding a first baseman was a possibility this winter. To that end, they added one of the best on the trade market in Josh Naylor. It will certainly be interesting to see the impact he has in Arizona in 2025.
