Padres Linked to $10.9 Million All-Star Slugger From NL West Rival in Blockbuster Trade

The Athletic linked the San Diego Padres to Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star first baseman Josh Naylor, who could mitigate some of their positional issues heading into the trade deadline.

The Padres have been without an everyday left fielder for the better part of the last two months after they DFA'd and released veteran Jason Heyward after he spent a month on the injured list. Everyday designated hitter Gavin Sheets has taken up most of the time since his departure, playing 31 games in the outfield — however, he leaves a hole in the DH spot when he plays the field.

Luis Arraez is the Padres current first baseman, though if Naylor were to move to San Diego, they could shuffle around their infield to fit Arraez, Jake Cronenworth, Xander Bogaerts or even Manny Machado into the DH spot on any given day.

Naylor signed a one-year contract with the Diamondbacks and will enter free agency in the offseason, so the Padres could get him for cheap on a rental from the fourth-place team in their division.

Naylor began his MLB career with the Friars before they sent him to Cleveland in a nine-player trade for Mike Clevinger, Greg Allen and Matt Waldron. He had an average stay with the Padres, posting a .253 batting average and an OPS of .720 with nine home runs over a season and a half.

He became a force on the Guardians, breaking out in 2022 and making his first All-Star Game in 2024, a season during which he hit 31 home runs and drove in 108 RBIs for the first time in his career.

He is producing at a higher level this season, batting nearly .300 with 11 homers and 58 RBIs in 83 games. He also has an abnormally low strikeout rate for someone with as much power as he has, posting a 12.5 percent clip this season.

The Padres could desperately use another lineup boost, as they have struggled in the month of July for runs. They have 24 runs though eight games, the fourth least in MLB since the start of the month. Naylor's Diamondbacks have held them to three runs or less in each of the last three games.

They will face the D-Backs again on Thursday at 6:40 p.m. PT, where they will try to split the series with their division rivals and gain ground in the NL Wild Card, where they are one game behind the San Francisco Giants for the final spot.

For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.