Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates Among Teams Interested in Cleveland Guardians Slugger
Cleveland Guardians slugger Josh Naylor is apparently drawing interest on the trade market from multiple teams, including the Seattle Mariners and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Per Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland.com:
On the same day, it was learned that the Cubs, Pirates and Mariners showed interest in Naylor at the just-completed winter meetings in Nashville, Tennessee. The Guardians are in listening mode when it comes to trying to improve on their disappointing 76-86 finish last season. They have already discussed possible deals for right-handers Shane Bieber and Emmanuel Clase.
As Hoynes mentions, it may not make sense to trade Naylor considering that the Guardians already have a hard enough time generating offense. Outside of Jose Ramirez, Naylor is the team's best offensive player.
He's coming off a year in which he hit .308 with 17 homers and 97 RBI. He made his major league debut in 2019 with the San Diego Padres and came to Cleveland in the 2020 season.
He's under contract through the 2025 season so an acquiring team would have two years of team control left.
The Pirates and Mariners both make sense as potential trade partners. Pittsburgh is looking to get back into contention in the National League Central and is undoubtedly interested in acquiring a player who is still going through arbitration as opposed to signing someone to a lucrative free agent deal.
Seattle has seen its offense take a massive step back this offseason. They've lost Teoscar Hernandez, Eugenio Suarez and Jarred Kelenic and need to work to get back at least neutral in 2024. They also appear cash-strapped and would prefer the trade market to free agency.
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