The Seattle Mariners have already punched their ticket into the 2025 MLB postseason and they have in fact won the AL West. It keeps on getting better for the playoff-bound Mariners, as they earned a bye to the ALDS since they cannot finish below second place in the overall AL standings.

But on Friday night, the Mariners' luck took a bit of a turn for the worse on Friday when one of their key trade deadline acquisitions, Josh Naylor, suffered an injury that forced him out early of Seattle's contest against the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Mariners slugger sustained the injury after he stole second base in the third inning, and he was showing discomfort while running the basepaths when Seattle ended the inning on a double play that saw Naylor be out at third base.

It's not quite clear what the injury Naylor suffered was. However, he was clutching on to his abdomen area, so he might have tweaked that area while running the bases. Nonetheless, it's clear that it was deemed serious enough for him not to keep on going.

The last thing the Mariners need is an injury to one of their most productive hitters, although at the moment, there is no official diagnosis yet on what injury Naylor suffered and for how long he'll have to deal with this knock.

In the sixth inning, Mitch Garver replaced Naylor in the lineup for the Mariners.

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Mariners need all hands on deck for playoff push

Seattle Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor (12) loses his helmet after striking out against the Athletics during the fourth inning at Sutter Health Park.
Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

The good news for the Mariners is that with their ALDS bye guaranteed, they can ease Naylor back into action. The ALDS won't be starting until the fourth of October (Saturday), so they have eight days to make sure that Naylor is healthy and that he'll be his usual productive self for the Mariners as they try to snap their 24-year postseason win drought.

Naylor has been a revelation in Mariners colors; he has been very good at the plate, with an OPS of .829 as a Mariner even after exiting action early against the Dodgers on Friday. But it's on the basepaths where he's provided surprise value. Naylor has been a negative baserunner all his career heading into 2025 according to a few metrics, but he's turned that around and has become a positive baserunner who's managed to steal 30 bases this season.

But with him suffering this latest injury, it might be best for him to set that baserunning adventures of him to the side for the meantime, at least until he gets back to full strength.