Josh Naylor

Early Life

The son of a white Canadian father and Black mother from Jamaica, Josh Naylor grew up in Mississauga. By the age of three, he was playing baseball against older kids. His father, Chris, coached him in the Mississauga North Tigers program, where he showcased prodigious power. In 2010, at age 13, he was named Baseball Ontario’s Youth Player of the Year.

In 2012, at age 15, Naylor earned a spot on the Canadian Junior National Team as the team’s cleanup hitter. He helped Canada win a silver medal at the 18U Baseball World Cup in Seoul, South Korea.

Naylor spent four years with the Junior National Team. In May 2015, he cemented his status as one of the best high school players eligible for the MLB draft when he hit five home runs in 12 games against pro teams during the Junior National Team’s annual trip to the Dominican Republic.

Minor League Career (2015–19)

Josh Naylor was selected in the first round, 12th overall, by the Miami Marlins in the 2015 MLB draft. This made the highest Canadian non-pitcher ever drafted.

Naylor was assigned to the Marlins’ rookie-level Gulf Coast League team, where he recorded a .327 batting average in 25 games. He began the following season with the Class-A Greensboro Grasshoppers before being traded to the San Diego Padres as part of a seven-player deal on 29 July. He joined the Padres’ High-A Lake Elsinore Storm and registered a .252 batting average in 33 games to close out the season.

Naylor returned to Lake Elsinore in 2017 and had eight home runs in 72 games prior to being promoted to the Double-A San Antonio Missions. Naylor spent 2018 with the Missions and batted .297 with 17 home runs and 74 RBI in 128 games. At the end of the season, he was named the Padres’ Minor League Player of the Year.

He was promoted to the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas in 2019 and batted .314 with 10 home runs in 54 games. He earned his first MLB call-up in late May.

San Diego Padres (2019–20)

On 24 May 2019, Josh Naylor made his MLB debut with the Padres against his hometown Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. He went hitless in four at bats but collected his first three MLB hits in a Padres’ 19–4 win the next day.

In total, Naylor had a .249 batting average with eight home runs and 32 RBI in 94 games with the Padres in 2019. He returned to the team for the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, hitting .278 in 18 games before being dealt to the Cleveland Guardians on 31 August as part of a nine-player trade.

Cleveland Guardians (2020–24)

Josh Naylor batted .230 in 22 regular season games with the Guardians in 2020. But in the Guardians’ wild-card series against the New York Yankees, he registered hits in his first five post-season plate appearances to set an MLB record.

Naylor was the Guardians’ starting right fielder in 2021. He was on a five-game hitting streak when he collided with Guardians second baseman Ernie Clement in a game against the Minnesota Twins on 27 June. Naylor sustained multiple fractures to his right fibula and damaged ligaments in his ankle. He was out for the season.

After beginning the 2022 season on the 10-day injured list, Naylor became the Guardians’ starting first baseman and enjoyed his first 20-home-run campaign. On 9 May, against the Chicago White Sox, Naylor belted a game-tying grand slam in the 9th inning and a three-run home run in the 11th inning to lead the Guardians to a 12–9 win. He tied a single-game MLB record for a Canadian player with eight RBI.

Naylor was even better in 2023, when his slash line was .308/.354/.489 with 17 home runs and 97 RBI in 121 games. On 14 July 2023, Naylor and his brother, Bo, a Guardians catcher, homered in a game against the Texas Rangers. This made them the first two Canadian brothers to homer for the same MLB team in the same game. Following the season, Josh Naylor was named winner of the Tip O’Neill Award as Canada’s baseball player of the year.

For an encore in 2024, Naylor led American League first basemen with 31 home runs and 108 RBI and was selected to his first All-Star Game.

Arizona Diamondbacks (2025)

On 21 December 2024, the Guardians traded Josh Naylor to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Naylor recorded a .292 batting average with 11 home runs and 11 stolen bases in 93 games for the Diamondbacks in 2025. Struggling with a 50–53 record, Arizona traded Naylor, a free agent at the end of the season, to the Seattle Mariners on 24 July.

Seattle Mariners (2025–present)

Josh Naylor quickly endeared himself to Mariners fans when he became the first player in MLB history to register four home runs and more than 10 stolen bases in their first 15 games with a team. In 54 regular season contests with the Mariners in 2025, Naylor batted .299 with nine home runs and 33 RBI. He also showcased his incredible base-running skills, stealing 19 bags to set a record for Mariners first basemen. An elite base-stealer despite having a sprint speed in the third percentile in MLB, Naylor finished the season with 30 stolen bases and 20 home runs. He was only the third first baseman in MLB history to do so.

In 12 post-season games in 2025, including seven against the Toronto Blue Jays, Naylor registered a team-leading 16 hits. He had at least three hits in four different games, which tied an MLB post-season record.

Naylor entered the off-season as a free agent. On 17 November 2025, he signed a five-year, $92.5-million contract to return to the Mariners.

Personal Life

Josh Naylor is the eldest of three brothers to play professional baseball. His younger brother, Bo, is a catcher in the Cleveland Guardians system and his youngest brother, Myles, is an outfielder in the Athletics’ organization. The Naylor brothers are also second cousins of Pickering’s Denzel Clarke, a centre fielder with the Athletics.

Naylor has been married to his high school sweetheart, Chantel Collado, since January 2025. Their first child was born in October 2025.

Awards

• Youth Player of the Year, Baseball Ontario (2010)
• Minor League Player of the Year, San Diego Padres (2018)
• Tip O’Neill Award, Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (2023, 2025)