Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
After splitting time between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners this past season, veteran infielder Josh Naylor will be hitting the free agent market. Naylor is one of the more interesting players on the market since he is neither a star player nor a scrub out on the field.
The veteran is just an extremely solid player who does a lot of the little things well, and he is a perfect kind of guy to have in a clubhouse. The Mariners saw this firsthand, and he drastically helped them come within one game of reaching the World Series.
Seattle would love to keep him around, but money tends to be the biggest factor in free agency. After the year that Naylor put together, he is likely to receive a lucrative offer from some team in the league.
For the year, Naylor hit .295 with 20 home runs and 92 runs batted in. This is exactly the type of year that the infielder wanted to have before he hit the open market, and now he will likely reap the benefits.
The veteran is just a solid hitter, and he has been at least 18 percent better than league-average at the plate in each of the past four seasons. Naylor is also only 29 years old, which could also factor into his free agency and the teams interested in him.
Teams may be very interested in Naylor for obvious reasons, but also for the fact that he doesn’t have a qualifying offer attached to him due to the midseason trade. Naylor could be one of the bigger pickups this offseason, and he could be a steal for any team.
The veteran showed his worth once he got to Seattle, and it will surely help his overall market. Naylor could be a more costly option for teams who miss out on some of the other high-profile guys on the free agent market this year.
This is just a prediction, NOT a report!
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Josh Naylor Will Return to the Cleveland Guardians
One team that could make a real run at Naylor this offseason is the Cleveland Guardians. Cleveland is very familiar with Naylor due to his spending multiple years with the organization, but a reunion could be needed.
The Guardians went on a magical run to end the season, making it to the postseason. But once they were there, the offense failed to show up again, and they were knocked out by the rival Detroit Tigers.
Adding a bat like Naylor could help things immensely, and he could serve this team well. While he doesn’t have extreme power, he is a true hitting machine and could help make the offense run much more smoothly.
Cleveland desperately needs to have an active offseason, especially with the current core in place. The front office may as well go after someone they know, and Naylor would likely welcome a return to the Guardians organization.
The Guardians will likely have real competition for Naylor, but they could also make him the big priority of the offseason, offering him a lucrative contract early on. This would likely see the veteran return to Cleveland, and the Guardians would set themselves up well for next season.