| Josh Naylor | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Naylor with theCleveland Guardians in 2023 | |||||||||||||||
| Arizona Diamondbacks – No. 22 | |||||||||||||||
| First baseman | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1997-06-22)June 22, 1997 (age 27) Mississauga,Ontario,Canada | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| May 24, 2019, for the San Diego Padres | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through 2024 season) | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .262 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 84 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 343 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Joshua-Douglas James Naylor (born June 22, 1997) is a Canadian professionalbaseballfirst baseman for theArizona Diamondbacks ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for theSan Diego Padres andCleveland Guardians.
TheMiami Marlins selected Naylor with the 12th overall pick in the2015 MLB draft, and traded him to the Padres in 2016. He made his MLB debut in 2019. The Padres traded Naylor to Cleveland during the 2020 season. He was anMLB All-Star in 2024 and the Guardians traded him to the Diamondbacks after the 2024 season.
Throughout his amateur career, he played for the Ontario Blue Jays of the Premier Baseball League of Ontario (PBLO). This elite travel baseball team regularly competed in tournaments across North America, and was composed of the top young players in all of Ontario.
Naylor attendedSt. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School inMississauga, Ontario. He made the Canadian junior national baseball team at the age of 15, winning the silver medal at theUnder-18 Baseball World Cup held in South Korea in 2012.[1][2] He won the bronze medal at the 2014 Under-18 Baseball World Cup,[3] and competed in the 2015 Under-18 Baseball World Cup.[4]
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In 2014, Naylor was chosen as one of the ten high school invitees to the MLB Junior SelectHome Run Derby during the MLB All-Star Week atTarget Field, becoming the first Canadian to participate in the event.[5][6] He finished in second place.[2] Later in 2014, he appeared in thePerfect Game All-American Classic atPetco Park and theUnder Armour All-America Baseball Game atWrigley Field.[7]
Naylor was committed to enroll atTexas Tech University to playcollege baseball for theTexas Tech Red Raiders baseball team.[8] In 2015,Perfect Game ranked Naylor among the top 50 availableprospects available in the2015 Major League Baseball Draft, and he madeBaseball America's High SchoolAll-American first team.[9]
TheMiami Marlins selected Naylor in the first round, with the 12th overall selection, of the2015 MLB draft.[10][11] He signed with the Marlins after his June 25 graduation from St. Joan of Arc for a reportedsigning bonus of $2.25 million, and was assigned to theGulf Coast Marlins of theRookie-levelGulf Coast League for his professional debut.[12][13] Naylor played in 25 total games for the Marlins posting a .327 batting average with one home run and 16 RBIs.
Naylor began the 2016 season with theGreensboro Grasshoppers of theSingle–ASouth Atlantic League.[14] In June he was suspended without pay after injuring teammateStone Garrett with a knife as part of aprank.[15] He was selected to appear in the 2016All-Star Futures Game.[16]
On July 29, 2016, the Marlins traded Naylor,Carter Capps,Jarred Cosart, andLuis Castillo to theSan Diego Padres in exchange forAndrew Cashner,Colin Rea,Tayron Guerrero, and cash considerations.[17] Naylor was assigned to theLake Elsinore Storm of theHigh–ACalifornia League. In 122 games between the Grasshoppers and the Storm, Naylorbatted .264 with 12 home runs and 75runs batted in.[18]
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Naylor played forTeam Canada in the2017 World Baseball Classic.[19] He began the 2017 season with Lake Elsinore.[20] The Padres promoted him to theSan Antonio Missions of theDouble–ATexas League in July.[21] Naylor finished 2017 with a combined .280 average with ten home runs and 64 RBIs between both clubs.[22] He returned to San Antonio in 2018, and began playing as anoutfielder.[23]
Naylor opened the 2019 season with theEl Paso Chihuahuas of theTriple–APacific Coast League.[24] On May 24, 2019, Naylor was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[25] He made his MLB debut that night versus theToronto Blue Jays. In 94 games during his rookie campaign, Naylor slashed .249/.315/.403 with eight home runs and 32 RBI.[26]
Naylor made appearances for San Diego in 2020, batting .278/.316/.417 with one home run, four RBI, and one stolen base.
On August 31, 2020, the Padres traded Naylor, along withAustin Hedges,Cal Quantrill, and minor league playersGabriel Arias,Owen Miller, andJoey Cantillo, to theCleveland Indians in exchange forMike Clevinger,Greg Allen, andMatt Waldron.[27] In the2020 American League Wild Card Series, Naylor recorded five hits in his first five career postseason plate appearances, the first player in MLB history to do so.[28]
During a game against theMinnesota Twins on June 27, 2021, Naylor collided with second basemanErnie Clement while trying to catch apop up in shallow right field. He broke and dislocated his ankle, which required season ending surgery.[29] In 69 appearances, Naylor had hit .253/.301/.399 with seven home runs and 22 RBI.[30]
On May 9, 2022, in a game against theChicago White Sox, Naylor became the first player in Major League history to hit two three-run home runs or grand slams in the ninth inning or later of the same game. He also became the first player to have at least eight RBI in the eighth inning or later since RBI became an official statistic in 1920. After an RBI-double in the 8th inning, his first home run was a game-tying grand slam in the top of the 9th off ofLiam Hendriks to tie the game at eight runs apiece, then his second home run was a go-ahead three-run home run in the top of the 11th off ofRyan Burr which would win the game 12–9.[31] Naylor played in 122 games for the Guardians, slashing .256/.319/.452 with 20 home runs and 79 RBI.[32]
On January 13, 2023, Naylor agreed to a one-year, $3.35 million contract with the Guardians, avoiding salary arbitration.[33] In 121 games for Cleveland, he batted .308/.354/.489 with 17 home runs, 97 RBI, and 10 stolen bases.[34] Naylor made 152 appearances for the Guardians during the 2024 campaign, hitting .243/.320/.456 with career-highs in home runs (31) and RBI (108).[35]
On December 21, 2024, the Guardians traded Naylor to theArizona Diamondbacks in exchange forSlade Cecconi and a competitive balance draft pick in the2025 Major League Baseball draft.[36][37]
Naylor is 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighs 257 pounds (117 kg).[2] He profiles as apower hitter,[4] andGreg Hamilton, the coach of the Canadian national junior team, described Naylor's hitting approach as "advanced".[38]
Naylor is the eldest of three brothers — himself, Bo and Myles — born to Chris and Jenice Naylor[39] inMississauga, Ontario, Canada. His brother,Bo Naylor, was drafted in the first round of the2018 MLB draft by theCleveland Guardians,[40] The youngest brother,Myles Naylor, plays for theOakland Athletics organization.[41] Naylor has been married to singer-songwriter Chantel Collado since January 2025.[42]
