Remember how Josh Naylor absolutely crushed it for our Mariners last year, helping us snag the AL’s No. 2 seed? Well, a year after that 2025 trade, his game *this season* is a whole different story. It is a tough pill to swallow for us here in the Emerald City, especially when you look back at how both teams are doing now after that big swap.
The M’s Naylor Deal: A Double-Edged Sword
Last year, Naylor was an absolute beast down the stretch, smashing 9 home runs, swiping 19 bases, and posting an .831 OPS. Then he went nuclear in the postseason, hitting an incredible .340 batting average to power our guys. He was massive for us. But in the first season of his five-year, $92.5 million re-signing with the M’s, Naylor has struggled mightily. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks are probably feeling pretty good about their end of the bargain. Brandyn Garcia has become a major part of Arizona’s bullpen this season, and Ashton Izzi is one of their better pitching prospects. When you re-grade it now, it’s an “A” for both teams. Ouch. An “A” for them, with us still watching Naylor try to find his groove after that huge contract. It just stings, you know?
Looking Back at Other Deadline Swaps
The M’s deal wasn’t the only one getting a fresh look from the 2025 trade deadline. Over in Hollywood, the Los Angeles Dodgers sent RHP Dustin May to the Boston Red Sox for James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard. That one has to be a gut punch for Boston, too. They went 1-5 in May’s six appearances, and he had a 5.40 ERA before getting hurt. Plus, they gave up two pretty good prospects. Both Tibbs and Ehrhard are absolutely thriving at Triple-A Oklahoma City this season and could be in the majors right now if they were in almost any other organization. That’s an A+ for LA and a big fat F for Boston. Yikes!
Then there’s the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays trade for RHP Griffin Jax and RHP Taj Bradley. Bradley started out hot for Minnesota, then came back to earth a bit, but he is still their second-best starter behind Joe Ryan. For the Rays, Jax has been clutch with a 2.80 ERA in his first 14 starts. WAR might say he’s replacement-level, but he’s consistently given them five solid innings, playing a huge role for a short-handed pitching staff that just might end up with the AL’s No. 1 seed. That’s an A+ for both teams.
Finally, the San Francisco Giants sent RHP Camilo Doval to the New York Yankees for a platter of prospects. New York gave up Jesús Rodríguez, Carlos De Rosa, Parks Harber, and Trystan Vrieling for Doval, who has been almost unusable for them. He’s got a 4.85 ERA and a negative-1.1 bWAR across 63 appearances after recording over 100 saves with the Giants. On the flip side, Harber has blossomed into a solid prospect, recently moving up to Triple-A, and Rodríguez even made his MLB debut earlier this season.
With the 2026 trade deadline fast approaching on August 3, it is crazy to look back at these deals from just a year ago. It makes you wonder what kind of moves our M’s front office will be making this time around, and what those re-grades will look like next year. We need some moves that are an A+ for us, and only us, for once.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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