Happy Friday! I hope you had a great week.

Welp, the MLB trade deadline is under a week away, and the Diamondbacks jump-started the action in a deal with the Mariners — plenty more on that below. The Cardinals commanded yesterday’s other main headline for all the wrong reasons after linebacker J.J. Russell, who signed a one-year deal this offseason, suffered a scary injury in just the second day of training camp.

Russell was carted off the field after colliding with rookie safety Kitan Crawford, and though the injury appeared extremely scary, the team confirmed later in the day that Russell had been discharged from the hospital and has re-joined the team at camp.

So relieved to hear he’s doing well.

Finally, it’s Friday, so you know what that means — if you need a joke to get you through to the weekend, here you go: What does a house wear? Address!

Let’s run it back next week. On to the show!

Diamondbacks Deal Josh Naylor For a Pair of Mariners Prospects

Josh Naylor, we hardly knew ye.

The D-backs traded the star first baseman to the Mariners yesterday in exchange for two pitching prospects: LHP Brandyn Garcia and RHP Ashton Izzi. The trade was the first domino to fall in what’s likely going to be an active week for D-backs general manager Mike Hazen, who’s officially a deadline seller as the team sits 10 games back in the NL West, and 5.5 games out of Wild Card contention.

What’s more, MLB dot com reported later Thursday the Mariners also have slugger Eugenio Suárez high on their list.

Let the selloff begin.

Naylor appeared in 93 games for Arizona this season, hitting .292 with 11 home runs and 59 RBI.

Pundits Grade the Deal

It doesn’t take long for the talking heads to weigh in, and yesterday’s deal was no exception. Here’s how the grades shaped up:

• PHNX Diamondbacks (The one and only Derek Montilla)
  • Diamondbacks B-
  • Mariners: A-
• ESPN
  • Diamondbacks: B
  • Mariners: B+
• USA Today
  • Diamondbacks: B
  • Mariners: A-
• Fansided
  • Diamondbacks: C+
  • Mariners: B+
• Clutchpoints
  • Diamondbacks: A-
  • Mariners: B+

Of course, a big part of the challenge in grading this deal is the D-backs’ return won’t be known for quite some time, whereas Seattle knows the type of big league talent it received. Time will tell, but what exactly did Arizona get in return?

Meet The Diamondbacks’ Newest Prospects

Hazen’s haul is solid for what’s seemingly a rental player for the Mariners. Here are a few things to know about Arizona’s newest prospects, who both ranked in the top 20 of Seattle’s system, according to MLB Pipeline:

LHP Brandyn Garcia

• 25 years old and ranked 13th in the Mariners system
• Picked 337th overall in 2023 out of Texas A&M
• Made his MLB debut earlier this week (July 21)
• Has allowed one earned run in two innings of work, spanning two games
• Minor League stats: 11-7 with a 2.49 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 184 strikeouts in 159.1 innings pitched
• Was a Northwest League postseason All-Star with the Everett Aquasox last season
• He has been optioned to Triple-A Reno by the D-backs
• Pitching arsenal: 2-seam fastball, sweeper and slider

RHP Ashton Izzi

• 21 years old and ranked 16th in the Mariners system
• Picked 126th overall in 2022 out of Oswego East High School (Illinois)
• Has not yet made his MLB debut
• Minor League stats: 8-11 with a 4.13 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 162 strikeouts in 176.1 innings pitched (highest level to date is with Everett in the Northwest League)
• Had not yet been assigned to a Minor League club as of this writing
• Pitching arsenal: 4-seam fastball, 2-seam fastball, sweeper, changeup and gyroball.

My Take: Tough to see Naylor go, who was a great fill-in following the departure of the beloved Christian Walker. Alas, reality is setting in for the Diamondbacks, who still have a number of big names to move, which was covered in depth by Leah earlier this week! It’s impossible to tell how this will play out in the short term, but mid-level prospects are never a bad thing to acquire, especially when faced with players on an expiring contract.

But don’t take my word for it — hear from Derek on yesterday’s emergency pod!

The Show Must Go On: The Diamondbacks were off yesterday, but they kick off a nine-game road trip in Pittsburgh today before stops in Detroit (July 28-30) and Sacramento (Aug. 1-3). Arizona will return to Chase Field on Monday, Aug. 4, with a team that will look very different.

Sigh.

Get on the Train: Don’t miss out on anything coming from Cardinals training camp, as Bo and our PHNX Cardinals crew will keep you up to date with everything you need to know! Make sure to check out Bo’s coverage from the start of camp, and stay tuned to our social media and YouTube channels for everything you need to know.

Give Me Liberty: The Mercury have a busy weekend, starting with tonight’s game at 16-6 New York (4:30 pm, ion TV). Phoenix then moves on to face the 11-12 Mystics in Washington on Sunday (3 pm, 3TV), and still has three more road games after that before returning to PHX Arena on August 5 against Connecticut.

Tip Of The Hat By Branded Bills

Thanks for the (brief) memories, Josh!