Seattle Marinersfirst baseman Josh Naylor is in the midst of a down season. The Mariners in general have been underwhelming this year and Naylor himself is a big reason why.
He re-signed with Seattle this past offseason on a five-year contract worth $92.5 million and has not lived up to it thus far.
Across 430 at-bats, the 29-year-old former All-Star has posted a .263 batting average, .328 on-base percentage, .700 OPS, 10 home runs and 42 RBIs.
He was a huge help to Seattle's lineup when he arrived from the Arizona Diamondbacks at last year's trade deadline. He has not been that same force this year.
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Naylor is also now dealing with an injury. Ahead of Tuesday's series opener against the New York Yankees, the Mariners removed him from the starting lineup at first base. Instead, backup infielder Weston Wilson drew the start in his place.
Before the game, Naylor spoke with reporters and announced the reason for his removal from the starting nine.
"Naylor not in the lineup as he has been dealing with an issue in his right wrist. The hope is the rest today and the off day Mon will help," reported Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports.
With Naylor out entirely for Tuesday's game and likely unavailable even to pinch-hit, that will give him two full days before testing out his right wrist again during pregame on Wednesday.
The hope is that is all he needs, and given Naylor's track record that will likely be the case. He has built a reputation as a tough player willing to play through minor injuries to benefit his club.
The Mariners need him as they enter Tuesday's game seven games under .500 and searching for any momentum they can find down the stretch.
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