The two are about to meet in the ALCS between the Blue Jays and Mariners, their new homes after playing parts of four seasons (2021-’24) together with the Guardians. This series is full of old Cleveland connections for Naylor. Standing on the field after celebrating the Mariners’ 15-inning win to clinch a trip to the Championship Series on Friday, Naylor riffed off a few old pals now with the Blue Jays.
“I’m really excited to see Straw, [Andrés] Giménez, [Nick] Sandlin and Ernie [Clement]. Those are my boys,” Naylor said.
Straw lit up when he was asked about Naylor. The two had some great days together in Cleveland, both playing with a little personality and little edge.
“Naylor is the man. I love Nayls forever. He was one of the best teammates I played with, for sure. I talked to him in the offseason all the time. I actually went to his baby shower throughout the season here while we were in Toronto. That was pretty cool to be a part of that.
“He’s one of the best guys I played with. He’s got your back. He’s going to tell you what you need to know. He’s going to back you up. I’m always a Naylor fan, but obviously this series, it’s a little different.”
We saw this friendship come out earlier in the year when Naylor was still in Arizona, prior to being traded to the Mariners. When the D-backs were in Toronto in June, Naylor sent a deep fly ball to center field that Straw tracked back to the wall, but he injured his ankle on an awkward collision as the ball fell for a hit.
Coming into second base, Naylor put his hands on his head, then did something you don’t often see on the diamond. He raised his hand to the umpire to call time and jogged to the outfield, running all the way to the warning track to check on his opponent and old friend.
Thinking back on that day Saturday, prior to Game 1 of the ALCS, Straw started laughing and admitted that, in the moment, he was thinking “Man, get out of here.” That’s the old teammate he’d come to love, though.
“He’s the man. He’s just looking out for my best interest. I would never do that for him,” Straw said, breaking into a laugh again. “If he was out there, I would never walk out, that’s for sure. But I thank him for that. He’s a really good friend.”
Naylor looms large in this ALCS back in Toronto, so close to his home in Mississauga. He went 6-for-23 (.261) with a pair of doubles in the ALDS win over the Tigers, but he was an absolute force down the stretch for the Mariners and had suddenly shocked the baseball world by rebranding himself as a base-stealer. The Blue Jays will need to keep the big, powerful Canadian grounded, and Straw might be tasked with chasing a few of those fly balls down.
Naylor has long been beloved by Canadian baseball fans, but not this week. He’s long been beloved by Straw, but not this week.
