The Seattle Mariners are fighting for an American League Wild Card spot, with the help of two trade deadline acquisitions. Eugenio Suarez has warmed up a little bit from his freezing-cold start. But Mariners first baseman Josh Naylor has been sensational, with steals as an unexpected part of his game. The Athletic's Chad Jennings spoke with the first baseman about Naylor's recent stolen base run, despite a lack of speed.
“[Royals SS Bobby] Witt [Jr.] is the fastest player in baseball at 30.3 feet per second, while Naylor ranks 532nd out of 546 players who have been clocked at least 10 times. According to Stathead, Naylor is the only player 6-foot-or-under, and weighing at least 235 pounds, to ever steal 20-plus bases in a season,” Jennings wrote.
“I think it’s about not being afraid to fail,” Naylor told Jennings. “Not being afraid to take a chance. That’s big for me. I try not to think about failure. Try not to think about, ‘What if I do this?’ I just like to play baseball, play hard.”
Coming into the 2025 season, Naylor had 25 stolen bases in 598 games across six seasons. He was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks from the Cleveland Guardians before this season, which sparked the running game. He had 11 steals in 93 games in the desert before the trade deadline. Then, he was dealt to the Mariners. He has 11 steals in 26 games already, just a part of his excellent run in Seattle.
Naylor also has five homers and a .754 OPS since joining the Mariners. The team has had some ups and downs in that sample, but they are the last team in the AL Wild Card heading into Monday's action. Naylor's steals have changed the outlook of his season and the team. Could it earn him a contract from a contender this offseason? Or could he stay in Seattle?
