Josh

Naylor

Naylor led off the fourth inning with a walk, swiped second base and scored on a two-out RBI single by Dominic Canzone. He then tagged Cardinals’ right-hander Andre Pallante for a 418-foot (107.3 mph EV) solo shot that gave the M’s a 3-2 lead they would never relinquish. His bat has started to show signs of life the past two weeks, though he’s still slashing a miserable .198/.278/.313 with three homers, 11 RBI and two stolen bases on the young season.

Naylor came into the day hitting .102 with no extra-base hits and two RBI in 15 games before hitting a line drive, three-run homer off Mike Burrows in the first. That one would have been a double in most ballparks. The second homer, though, was a 433-foot no-doubter that left his bat at 111.5 mph. That’s five mph harder than anything he’d previously hit this year. Naylor popped up in his final two at-bats, but today still seems like the start of a turnaround for him.

The 22-year-old second baseman is coming off of a very impressive Cactus League season. He’s expected to function in the strong side of a platoon for the M’s, though that role could expand while J.P. Crawford is shelved, which could allow him to carve out some deep league fantasy value. He’s the full alignment that manager Dan Wilson will send out on Opening Day: Brendan Donovan (3B), Cal Raleigh (C), Julio Rodriguez (CF), Josh Naylor (1B), Randy Arozarena (LF), Luke Raley (RF), Dominic Canzone (DH), Cole Young (2B) and Leo Rivas (SS).

Team Canada will miss Freddie Freeman, but it can still run out a pretty respectable lineup of SS Otto Lopez, 2B Edouard Julien, 1B Josh Naylor, RF Tyler O’Neill, LF Owen Caissie, DH Jared Young, C Bo Naylor, 3B Abraham Toro and CF Denzel Clarke. Jameson Taillon and Michael Soroka will lead the pitching staff, which also includes retired former major leaguers James Paxton and Phillippe Aumont.

The deal is now official. Naylor returns to Seattle after a phenomenal postseason in which he hit .340 (16-for-47) with three homers and two steals across 12 games. The 28-year-old slugging first baseman is coming off the best all-around season of his career, slashing .295/.353/.462 with 20 homers, 92 RBI and a surprising 30 steals over 147 games between the Mariners and Diamondbacks. He’s an extremely challenging hitter to project given his volatile year-to-year power output and an out-of-nowhere spike in stolen bases after recording just 22 swipes combined over the previous three seasons. It’s worth noting that T-Mobile Park remains one of the toughest environments in baseball for left-handed power — though hitters like Naylor tend to treat park factors as optional suggestions rather than actual limitations. Even so, Naylor has firmly established himself as a top-10 fantasy first baseman heading into next season.

The Mariners made it clear that re-signing Naylor was their priority after he starred in the postseason by batting .340 with three homers in 12 games. During the regular season, he hit .299/.341/.490 in 54 games after being acquired from the Diamondbacks and .295/.353/.462 with 20 homers, 92 RBI and a stunning 30 steals overall.

President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and skipper Dan Wilson also noted their desire to bring Naylor back. Hollander also explained that Naylor seemed to enjoy his time with the Mariners, “Everything I got from him was that he really liked it here… Josh just got two months plus the playoffs of what Seattle is like as a sports town. … He’s a really good dude and I really do think he liked it here a lot.” The 28-year-old slugger is hitting the free agent market for the first time following an outstanding season in which he slashed .295/.353/.462 with 20 homers, 92 RBI and a career-high 30 stolen bases in 604 plate appearances between the M’s and Diamondbacks. He’ll be one of the most highly coveted players available on the market this winter.

Naylor, who is batting .341 (15-for-44) with three homers this postseason, has been moved up in Seattle’s lineup with Jorge Polanco dropped to the cleanup spot as they attempt to make the World Series for the first time in the franchise’s 49-year history. The only other significant change involves Victor Robles in right field in place of Dominic Canzone. Here’s the full lineup: Julio Rodríguez (CF), Cal Raleigh (C), Naylor (1B), Polanco (DH), Randy Arozarena (LF), Eugenio Suárez (3B), J.P. Crawford (SS), Leo Rivas (2B) and Robles (RF).

Rivas started in Game 4 with Victor Robles shifting to the bench and that’s the same alignment that the M’s will use against Kevin Gausman on Friday evening. Here’s the full lineup: Julio Rodríguez (CF), Cal Raleigh (C), Jorge Polanco (DH), Josh Naylor (1B), Randy Arozarena (LF), Eugenio Suárez (3B), J.P. Crawford (SS), Dominic Canzone (RF) and Rivas (2B).

Naylor put Seattle ahead in the early stages of the contest with a second-inning big fly against Toronto starter Max Scherzer. It was his second round-tripper of the playoffs. The 28-year-old impending free agent wound up reaching base safely in all four of his plate appearances in the relatively one-sided affair. The Mariners will attempt to get back on track on Friday night when they square off in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series.