Newest Josh Naylor trade shows how much the Guardians fleeced the Diamondbacks

During Josh Naylor’s five-year tenure with the Guardians, he went from an energetic outfield prospect to a slugging, All-Star first baseman. 

Last offseason, the Guardians capitalized on that rise by trading Naylor to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Slade Cecconi and a Competitive Balance B Draft pick that turned into left-handing pitching prospect Will Hynes. 

On Thursday night, the Diamondbacks pulled the plug on their 2025 season by trading Naylor to the Seattle Mariners, which provides another reminder the Guardians won their trade for Naylor and made the move at the right time. 

Newest Josh Naylor trade shows how much the Guardians fleeced the Diamondbacks 

The Diamondbacks kicked the trade season off by sending Naylor up the West Coast in exchange for pitching prospects  LHP Brandyn Garcia and RHP Ashton Izzi, both of whom ranked as top-30 prospects in the team’s system, per MLB Pipeline. 

A solid return, sure, but still not on the same level as the Guardians return. Not only did the Guardians get Cecconi (who has looked excellent since making his season debut in May), but they also got Hynes, who is another solid pick in what was an excellent draft for Cleveland. 

It’s also worth considering the context around Cleveland’s trade of Naylor. While he was coming off the first All-Star season of his career and had emerged as a veteran leader in the team’s clubhouse, he was set to a free agent after this year and was also serving as a bit of a roadblock in front of Kyle Manzardo, who they acquired as a prospect when they fleeced the Rays at the 2023 trade deadline. 

And although Manzardo’s usage has been a bit… confusing this year due to the presence of Carlos Santana on the roster, he’s second on the Guardians in home runs (16) and is under team control until 2030. 

Naylor’s put together another solid season with the Diamondbacks (.292 average, 11 HR, 59 RBI) but it still hasn’t been enough for Arizona to contend this year, since their trade of Naylor signifies they’ll likely move slugging third baseman Eugenio Suarez and right-handers Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen — some of the top players available at the trade market. 

The gem of this deal was Garcia, who made his MLB debut earlier this week for the Mariners as a reliever but started his MLB journey as a starter. He’s an MLB-ready arm who the Diamondbacks could ease into big league action in the second half of the season.

Izzi is currently pitching at High-A, where he has a 5.51 ERA across 47 1/3 innings.

The Diamondbacks decided they didn’t have the pieces to win this year and turned toward being sellers. It’s a smart move. But it also shows how smart the Guardians were to deal Naylor, especially since it seems like they weren’t going to offer him a contract once this season ended. 

Naylor still has a lot of chapters left in his MLB career, but this trade finished off the chapter where the Guardians traded for him. And that chapter was a win.