Former Cleveland Guardians All-Star coming up clutch for Mariners in postseason

While there are still some bitter Cleveland Guardians fans out there after getting knocked out by the Detroit Tigers in the AL Wild Card earlier in the postseason, there might be a bit of a silver lining with a former player proving to have some October magic in his bat.

Former Guardians star Josh Naylor has undoubtedly had an interesting 2025 campaign after getting traded last offseason to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Naylor had a good start to the year in Arizona with a batting average of .292 and hitting 11 home runs and 59 RBIs in 93 games before packing his bags again in a trade to the Seattle Mariners.

That move ended up being good for Naylor as he was more productive in just 54 games. He hit nine home runs and 33 RBIs while batting .299.

During the last five games in the postseason, Naylor has been getting into a rhythm, recording three hits in three of those games. His best game happened in Game 2 of the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays, where he made some big hits for them.

His success started in the first inning, where he got a single into center. In the third inning, he once again got a base hit single to center and got Polanco to third base. Naylor's biggest play of the game came in the seventh inning, where he nailed a two-run home run to give Seattle a 9-3 lead and secure what would end up being a 10-3 win and a 2-0 lead in the series.

It's been a good postseason for Naylor as he is batting .290 with one home run and two RBIs, all coming in Game 2 of the ALCS. After a quiet start, Naylor has come alive.

Guardians fans can hang their hats on that, as Naylor was a solid batter for them in the regular season, but the postseason is a different story. Last year, in his fifth season in Cleveland, Naylor made his first All-Star game after hitting a career-high in home runs (31) and RBIs (108).

Some in Cleveland might wonder if trading Naylor during the offseason was the best move, given how he is playing, but the Guardians still had success in 2025. Fans will have to live vicariously through Naylor as he goes through his postseason run with the Mariners in pursuit of a World Series title.