Potential AL East Contender Shows Interest In Guardians Infielder

Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor is a popular name these days.

There are many teams needing some slugging and a first baseman.

There are several impactful free agents available at the position: Pete Alonso, Christian Walker, Paul Goldschmidt, and Carlos Santana just to name a few.

Other quality hitters for the cold corner can be had via trade: Yandy Diaz, Nathaniel Lowe and Naylor are just a couple of examples.

The Guardians need Naylor’s production at first: he hit a career-high 31 home runs this season, drove in 108 runs and accumulated a .776 OPS just a year before posting a .842 mark.

However, they need starting pitching even more, and they have a ready-made replacement in Kyle Manzardo.

We already wrote about the Seattle Mariners reportedly being interested in Naylor.

According to Jack Azoulay-Haron, you can add the Toronto Blue Jays to the list of potential suitors for Naylor.

“The Toronto Blue Jays are interested in Guardians first basemen Josh Naylor, sources tell @MLBNerds. Other teams are in the mix, but Toronto and Cleveland have had dialogue after already partnering on the Andrés Gimenez trade,” he posted on X.

The Toronto Blue Jays are interested in Guardians first basemen Josh Naylor, sources tell @MLBNerds. Other teams are in the mix, but Toronto and Cleveland have had dialogue after already partnering on the Andrés Gimenez trade.

— Jack Azoulay-Haron (@AzoulayHaron) December 19, 2024

The Blue Jays and Guardians have had productive dialogue this off-season resulting in the Andrés Giménez trade.

Toronto is trying to contend but has had a hard time luring free agents, so they could turn to the trade market to bring in impactful talent.

They do have Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base, but they could accommodate Naylor in theory using the DH spot.

The same can be said about the Guardians, but with David Fry not being ready for the field in a few months, they will have less flexibility.

If the Jays have a good pitcher to offer Toronto, or even a starting-caliber corner outfielder, they could have a path towards another deal.