Trade deadline carousel spins to life: J. Naylor moves to Seattle

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Arizona Diamondbacks
NEWS: Arizona traded 1B Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for RHP Ashton Izzi and LHP Brandyn Garcia.
IMPACT: High
BHQ SPIN: The DBacks kicked off trade deadline season by dealing one of their many expiring contacts. Naylor was acquired via trade from the Guardians in the offseason and slashed .292/.360/.447 (394 PA) with 11 homers and steals apiece alongside a 123 wRC+ in his only few months in the desert. His consistent performance at the plate across the past four seasons caught the eye of a Mariners club that was believed to be in on a different Arizona corner infielder. In return, the DBacks will receive 21-year-old old, right-handed starter Izzi, a 4th-round pick of the 2022 draft who has pitched to a 5.51 ERA (47.1 IP) with a 24.9% strikeout rate at High-A this year. 

Also heading to Arizona is 25-year-old left-handed reliever Brandyn Garcia who pitched well enough between Double-A and Triple-A (3.51 ERA, 28.2% K%) to earn a promotion earlier in July. If you’d like to learn more about the southpaw with the superb sinker, check out this week's Callups Column. In a corresponding move to Naylor’s departure, corner infielder/outfielder Tristin English was recalled from the minors. He had an extremely brief debut (one game) earlier this month, but has been tearing up Triple-A to the tune of a .341/.390/.566 (283 PA) slash. English (+60% PT) is expected to see the bulk of PT at first until Pavin Smith (+5%) returns to health, while Adrian Del Castillo (+15%) sees an uptick in PT at DH.
–Crumpler

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

Seattle Mariners
NEWS: Seattle acquired 1B Josh Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks and in return sent LHP Brandyn Garcia and a pitching prospect to Arizona.
IMPACT: High
BHQ SPIN: The first trade deadline domino has fallen and Naylor heads to the Mariners. He will likely now get the bulk of the first base ABs for the Mariners. Naylor’s numbers should be an upgrade at first base for the Mariners, as Naylor is hitting .292 with 11 HRs and a new career high of 11 SBs. Luke Raley and Donovan Solano had been splitting time at first base for much of the season and both had been struggling recently. Over the last month Raley has had a contact rate of 56% and a .645 OPS while Solano has a .541 OPS. Both Raley and Solano will lose playing time, but Raley will still find some time in the outfield while Solano will likely be spending most of his time on the bench. We’ve kept Naylor’s playing time at 85% and to accommodate that time, we’ve reduced playing time for Solano (-35%), Raley (-30%), Tyler Locklear (-5%), Victor Robles (-5%), and Dylan Moore (-5%).
–Davison

Baltimore Orioles
NEWS: Baltimore placed RHP Félix Bautista on the 15-Day IL and recalled RHP Kade Strowd from AAA-Norfolk.
IMPACT: High
BHQ SPIN: Baltimore will be without its closer for the foreseeable future as Bautista has been sidelined due right shoulder discomfort. Bautista is expected to undergo an MRI on July 25 which should provide more clarity to the cause of the discomfort and his potential return timeline. Interim manager Tony Mansolino indicated on Thursday that the team will use a matchups-based approach to close games rather than naming a set closer. However, as noted in the most recent edition of AL East PT Tomorrow, several of Baltimore’s late-inning relievers are expected to be on the trade block. For now, Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto should split most of the late-inning duties based on matchups. However, both pitchers, along with Andrew Kittredge, are considered strong candidates to be traded. This could open the door for other pitchers to get opportunities to close games, with Yennier Cano and Keegan Akin, who is currently rehabbing for AAA-Norfolk, the next-most likely candidates. Strowd, who was recalled in a corresponding move, is expected to fill a middle-relief role.
–Williams

Tampa Bay Rays
NEWS: After he could not make it out of the second inning in his July 23 start, the Tampa Bay Rays demoted RHP Taj Bradley to AAA-Durham.
IMPACT: High
BHQ SPIN: The 24-year-old Bradley has had his moments during the 2025 season. Before the recent debacle against the White Sox (1.2 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 3 BB), Bradley’s previous two starts had thrown six scoreless innings against the Orioles (3 H, 1 BB, 6 K, PQS-5) and held the Red Sox to one run over six innings (2 H, 3 BB, 5 K, PQS-4). But Tampa apparently was tired of riding a roller coaster, with Bradley regularly sprinkling in PQS-DIS, too. The specific diagnosis for Bradley is that he needs to refine the use of his change-up to complement his fastball and cutter, and now he will get the chance to do that work away from the pressure of a pennant race the Rays are very much in. The Rays did not immediately announce Bradley’s replacement in the rotation, but it is widely presumed it will be RHP Joe Boyle, who has given up 3 ER in 14 relief innings with an 11/4 K/BB since his recall from the minors earlier this month, some of those innings piggybacking RHP Drew Rasmussen. Boyle’s 13% hit rate won’t last, but he should otherwise be set up well for success, backed by one of the league’s best offenses.
–Olson

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