The Seattle Mariners went all-in on the commerce deadline, making historical past by uniting Cal Raleigh and Eugenio Suarez. Seattle is gearing up for a pennant race because the group makes an attempt to chase down the Houston Astros. And whereas the Suarez swap made headlines, the group’s different huge addition can have a serious affect on the playoff push as nicely.
The Mariners landed Josh Naylor in a commerce with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The All-Star first baseman joined Seattle forward of the deadline as a mid-season infield improve. And Naylor has already impressed in his quick time together with his new group.
“Very sensible participant. He is fascinated with completely different conditions earlier than they occur. He would possibly run it previous me and it is, ‘I am with you on the identical web page and this may very well be the second we will take benefit.’ He is prepared any time,” base working coach Eric Younger Jr. stated of Naylor, per Mariners reporter Shannon Drayer.
The Mariners put together for deep postseason run
The seventh-year veteran has all of the sudden grow to be very proactive on the bottom paths. After accumulating 11 steals in 93 video games with the Diamondbacks, Naylor has racked up 10 stolen bases in simply 12 video games with Seattle.
Naylor’s 21 whole swipes after 105 video games greater than double any earlier single-season excessive he’s recorded since debuting in 2019. And the 28-year-old professional realizes the significance of base working within the postseason.
As the standard of opposing pitching improves within the playoffs, runs grow to be tougher to come back by. Having the ability to manufacture a run may very well be the distinction between a championship and an early exit. The Mariners are presently tenth with 527 runs scored this season. The group is fifteenth in run differential. Nevertheless, Seattle has the fourth-most steals within the majors with 115.
Naylor can also be contributing to the offense in a extra typical approach. He received his first Mariners dwelling run in his fourth sport with Seattle. Now Naylor appears to have discovered his energy stroke with dwelling runs in back-to-back video games. On Wednesday, he received the group on the board early with a two-run bomb within the first inning. The Mariners went on to beat the White Sox 8-6.
Seattle has gained 5 of six video games since its aggressive commerce deadline whereas the Astros have gone 2-4. The recent streak has helped shut the hole within the AL West. The Mariners now path the Astros by two video games.