Josh Naylor Bio
Joshua-Douglas James Naylor is a Canadian professional baseball first baseman for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). Born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario, he has built a reputation as a hard-hitting corner infielder whose career has carried him through the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians and Guardians, and the Arizona Diamondbacks before arriving in Seattle. A two-time winner of the Tip O’Neill Award, Naylor has become one of the most recognizable Canadian players of his generation.
Selected 12th overall by the Miami Marlins in the 2015 MLB draft, Naylor debuted in the majors with the Padres in 2019 and quickly established himself as a power-hitting first baseman. His breakout came in Cleveland, where he was named an All-Star in 2024. Beyond his club achievements, Naylor has represented Canada in multiple international competitions, including the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
Early Life and Background
Joshua-Douglas James Naylor was born on June 22, 1997, in Mississauga, Ontario, a suburb located immediately west of Toronto within the Greater Toronto Area. He grew up as a devoted Toronto Blue Jays fan, and the city’s vibrant baseball culture helped shape his early interest in the sport. Mississauga, with its strong community leagues and competitive youth programs, provided an ideal environment for a young player with big-league aspirations.
Naylor attended St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga, graduating in June 2015. Beyond baseball, he and his brothers spent their childhoods playing ice hockey, a sport that helped develop the athleticism that later served him well on the diamond. His family has deep ties to the game, and his parents encouraged his passion for baseball from a young age.
Path to Baseball
Naylor began his amateur career with the Ontario Blue Jays, an elite travel baseball team in the Canadian Premier Baseball League composed of top young players from the Greater Toronto Area and surrounding Southern Ontario cities. He was the youngest player on the team; he joined when he was 12 years old, while most of his teammates were aged 16 or older. His early performances drew the attention of national scouts and opened doors to elite showcase events.
Following his junior year of high school, Naylor was one of ten high school baseball players invited to the 2014 MLB Junior Select Home Run Derby during MLB All-Star Week at Target Field in Minneapolis, becoming the first Canadian to participate in the event. He also played in the 2014 Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park and the 2014 Under Armour All-America Baseball Game at Wrigley Field. Naylor committed to play college baseball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders before being selected 12th overall in the 2015 MLB draft.
Josh Naylor Career
Draft and Minor Leagues (2015-2018)
Naylor was selected 12th overall by the Miami Marlins in the first round of the 2015 MLB draft on June 8. He signed with the Marlins after his graduation for a $2.25 million signing bonus and was assigned to the Rookie-level GCL Marlins, where he made his professional debut and finished the year batting .327 with one home run and 16 runs batted in. The following season, he began with the Single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers before being selected to the 2016 All-Star Futures Game at Petco Park.
Midway through the 2016 season, the Marlins traded Naylor to the San Diego Padres, who assigned him to the Advanced-A Lake Elsinore Storm. He climbed quickly through the Padres system, reaching Double-A San Antonio in 2017 and Triple-A El Paso in 2019, while gradually transitioning to the outfield. Across the minors, Naylor consistently showed a power-hitting profile that had scouts ranking him among the top prospects in baseball.
San Diego Padres (2019-2020)
Naylor made his Major League Baseball debut on May 24, 2019, playing for the San Diego Padres against his hometown team, the Toronto Blue Jays, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario. The next day, he recorded his first career hit with an RBI double off Blue Jays pitcher Edwin Jackson. He finished his rookie season batting .249 with eight home runs and 32 runs batted in across 94 games, while playing primarily in the outfield.
During the shortened 2020 season, Naylor appeared in 18 games for the Padres, batting .278 with one home run and four runs batted in while rotating between designated hitter, first base, and the outfield. On August 31, 2020, the Padres traded him to the Cleveland Indians as part of a multi-player deal that reshaped both organizations.
Cleveland Indians and Guardians (2020-2024)
Naylor joined the Indians late in the 2020 season and made an immediate postseason impact, becoming the first player in MLB history to record five hits in his first five career postseason plate appearances during the American League Wild Card Series against the New York Yankees. The following year, he suffered a broken and dislocated ankle in a collision with teammate Ernie Clement, requiring season-ending surgery.
Returning healthy in 2022, Naylor delivered one of the most dramatic single-game performances of his career against the Chicago White Sox on May 9, hitting two late-inning home runs, including a game-tying grand slam and a go-ahead three-run shot, to become the first player in MLB history to hit two home runs of three runs or more in the ninth inning or later of the same game. He finished 2022 with 20 home runs and 79 runs batted in, then followed it up by batting .308 with 17 home runs and 97 runs batted in during the 2023 season, earning his first Tip O’Neill Award as Canada’s top baseball player.
In 2024, Naylor earned his first career MLB All-Star selection and finished the regular season batting .243 with 31 home runs and 108 runs batted in. The Guardians advanced to the American League Championship Series, where they were eliminated by the New York Yankees. Following the season, Cleveland traded him to the Arizona Diamondbacks on December 21, 2024.
Arizona Diamondbacks (2025)
Shortly after the trade, Naylor agreed to a one-year, $10.9 million contract with the Diamondbacks in January 2025, avoiding his final opportunity for arbitration. He opened the year as Arizona’s everyday first baseman and produced one of the season’s most memorable moments on June 9, hitting a walk-off grand slam off Mariners pitcher Carlos Vargas in the 11th inning to win the game 8-4. Naylor played in 93 games for the Diamondbacks, batting .292 with 11 home runs, 59 runs batted in, and 11 stolen bases before being traded again at the deadline.
Seattle Mariners Era (2025-Present)
Midway through the 2025 season, the Arizona Diamondbacks traded Naylor to the Seattle Mariners on July 24, in exchange for pitchers Ashton Izzi and Brandyn Garcia. He quickly became a key contributor down the stretch, hitting his 20th home run of the season on September 19 to become the 14th first baseman in MLB history with at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a single season. On September 23, his bases-clearing double off the Colorado Rockies helped the Mariners clinch a postseason berth, and he later stole his 30th base to become just the fourth first baseman in MLB history with at least 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a season. He batted .299 with nine home runs, 33 runs batted in, and 19 stolen bases in 54 games for Seattle, helping the Mariners win the American League West.
In the postseason, Naylor helped the Mariners eliminate the Detroit Tigers in the American League Division Series and reach the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2001. During Game 2 of the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on October 13, he hit a two-run home run to become the first Canadian-born player to hit a postseason home run against the Blue Jays. The Mariners were eventually eliminated by the Blue Jays in seven games. Following the season, Naylor re-signed with Seattle on a five-year, $92.5 million contract on November 17, 2025, and received his second Tip O’Neill Award.
Driving Style and Strengths
Naylor is a powerful left-handed hitter whose game is built on extra-base damage and improved plate discipline. After spending his early major league seasons hitting too many ground balls, he revamped his approach and lowered his strikeout rate, allowing his natural power to play more consistently. Defensively, he transitioned from a struggling outfielder to a reliable first baseman with a strong arm and steady glove. On the bases, he has surprised critics with his speed, becoming one of the few first basemen in MLB history to combine 20-plus home runs with 30-plus stolen bases in a single season.
Notable Events and Milestones
Naylor’s career is dotted with historic moments, including his 5-for-5 postseason debut in 2020, his record-setting two-home-run game against the White Sox in 2022, and his walk-off grand slam for the Diamondbacks in 2025. He is a two-time Tip O’Neill Award winner (2023 and 2025), a 2024 MLB All-Star, and the only Canadian to compete in three editions of the U-18 Baseball World Cup (2012, 2013, and 2015). His 20-30 home run-stolen base season in 2025 cemented his place among the most versatile first basemen of his era.
Josh Naylor International Career
Naylor has been a fixture in Canadian baseball at the international level since his teenage years. He joined the Canada junior national baseball team at the age of 15, helping the program win a silver medal at the 2012 IBAF 18U Baseball World Championship in Seoul, South Korea. He returned for the 2013 and 2015 U-18 Baseball World Cups, becoming the first and only Canadian to compete in three editions of the tournament, and was named to the 2015 All-World Team after batting .484 with three home runs and 11 runs batted in. At the senior level, he represented Canada at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, where at 19 he was the youngest player on the roster, and was later named to multiple Tip O’Neill Award-winning seasons as Canada’s top professional player.
Josh Naylor Family
Family Background and Baseball Lineage
Naylor is the eldest of three brothers, all of whom are professional baseball players and were first-round selections in the Major League Baseball draft. His younger brother, Bo Naylor, is a catcher for the Cleveland Guardians, while his youngest brother, Myles Naylor, plays in the Athletics farm system. The Naylor brothers are cousins of fellow MLB outfielder Denzel Clarke of the Athletics, with the family connection running through their mothers, Jenice Naylor and Donna Smellie. The brothers also grew up playing ice hockey, a testament to their athletic versatility.
Personal Life
Naylor is biracial, with a White Canadian father and a mother of Jamaican descent. He married his high school sweetheart, Chantel Collado, on January 4, 2025, in a wedding ceremony in Vaughan, Ontario. Collado, a Bachata singer who performs under the mononym Chantel, is a fellow native of Mississauga and attended St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School with Naylor, where they met. The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter, in October 2025 while Naylor was playing against the Detroit Tigers in the 2025 American League Division Series.
2025 Season Performance
Naylor’s 2025 season was defined by a mid-year trade that revitalized his career. After batting .292 with 11 home runs, 59 runs batted in, and 11 stolen bases in 93 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks, he was dealt to the Seattle Mariners on July 24. With Seattle, he batted .299 with nine home runs, 33 runs batted in, and 19 stolen bases in 54 games, finishing the year with 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases to become the fourth first baseman in MLB history to reach those marks in a single season. His late-season surge helped the Mariners win the American League West and clinch a postseason berth.
In the playoffs, Naylor struggled early against the Detroit Tigers, going hitless in his first three games, but rebounded with six hits in the final two games of the American League Division Series to help Seattle advance. He continued to produce against his hometown Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS, hitting a historic two-run home run at Rogers Centre that made him the first Canadian-born player to homer against the Blue Jays in the postseason. Although the Mariners fell in seven games, Naylor finished the 2025 postseason batting .340 with three home runs and five runs batted in across 12 games.
Following the season, Naylor re-signed with the Mariners on a five-year, $92.5 million contract and earned his second Tip O’Neill Award as Canada’s top professional baseball player. Looking ahead, he is positioned as a cornerstone of the Seattle lineup and a key figure in the franchise’s pursuit of its first World Series appearance.