Seattle Mariners Did Everything Right When it Comes to Josh Naylor Trade

Look, I love prospect hoarding as much as the next guy, but this was a good move for the M's.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Josh Naylor bats against the Houston Astros in the first inning at Chase Field in Phoenix on July 23, 2025. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Thursday, the Seattle Mariners acquired All-Star first baseman Josh Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitching prospects Ashton Izzi and Brandyn Garcia.

Garcia, a hard-throwing left-hander, made his major league debut earlier this week. He features an upper-90s fastball and a solid slider. Both players were ranked in the 13-16 range of the latest MLB Pipeline rankings.

While both players could end up being good pitchers, this is a move the Mariners needed to make, and a move they shouldn't regret making in the future. I discussed this further on the most recent edition of the 'Refuse to Lose' podcast:

We ​all ​love ​prospects, ​but ​at ​some ​point ​you've ​got ​to ​be ​willing ​to ​take ​a ​risk. And ​look,​ as ​far ​as ​the ​prospects ​go, ​I ​like ​prospects. ​I've ​always ​been ​a ​fan ​of ​prospects, ​and ​I ​believe ​that ​building ​internally ​is ​the ​best ​and ​most ​sustainable ​way ​to ​win. ​Over ​the ​last ​15 ​years, ​I ​think ​it's ​been ​pretty ​proven ​that ​a ​homegrown ​core ​is ​what ​gets ​you ​to ​the ​promised ​land ​more ​often ​than ​not. ​I ​don't ​want ​to ​burn ​the ​farm ​system ​down ​for ​rental ​players, ​​but ​as ​far ​as ​this ​goes, ​I ​have ​absolutely ​no ​regrets ​​in ​trading ​Ashton ​Izzi ​and ​Brandyn ​Garcia. ​

Of ​course ​they ​run ​the ​risk ​of ​being ​excellent. ​Of ​course ​they ​do. ​And ​you ​run ​the ​risk ​of ​it ​burning ​you ​in ​the ​future. ​But ​as ​far ​as ​I'm ​concerned, ​the ​Mariners ​did, ​or ​didn't ​do, ​the ​things ​that ​I ​didn't ​want ​them ​to ​do. ​They ​did ​not ​touch ​the ​top ​10 ​of ​their ​prospects. ​We ​all ​love ​prospects, ​but ​at ​some ​point ​you've ​got ​to ​be ​willing ​to ​take ​a ​risk. ​There's ​two ​goals ​when ​it ​comes ​to ​the ​farm ​system.: ​That ​guys ​matriculate ​to ​the ​majors ​and ​help ​you, ​or ​guys ​are ​used ​for ​deals. ​And ​the ​Mariners ​were ​able ​to ​accomplish ​the ​latter ​without taking ​away ​from ​the ​top ​end. ​You ​have ​to ​be ​happy ​with ​this. ​As ​far ​as ​I'm ​concerned.

You can listen to the full podcast in the player below:

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NEW PODCAST IS HERE: Brady is back on a Friday, reacting to a win over the Angels and the M's acquisition of Josh Naylor. Furthermore, he talks about Julio Rodriguez's history-making day at the plate and he's joined by Japanese baseball insider @GaijinBaseball, who talks about Ichiro in advance of the Hall of Fame induction. CLICK HERE:

PRIORITIES STRAIGHT: As the trade deadline nears, the Mariners are reportedly zeroing in on a specific target. CLICK HERE:

LEGENDS UNITE: The Mariners will have a full contingent at the Baseball Hall of Fame next weekend, as Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez will be in attendance for Ichiro's Hall of Fame induction. CLICK HERE:

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