Prestigious award goes to MLB slugger from Mississauga for second time

It’s been a busy — and rewarding — couple of months for the Seattle Mariners’ Josh Naylor.

The slugging first baseman and Mississauga native found himself in the news again on Thursday when he was named the 2025 Tip O’Neill Award winner by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

It’s the second time Naylor, 28, has won the prestigious award, which is presented annually to the Canadian player who best exemplifies excellence in individual performance and team contribution while upholding baseball’s highest ideals, Baseball Canada said in delivering the news online.

Naylor, whose Mariners reached the American League Championship Series in October before losing in seven games to the Toronto Blue Jays, first won the Tip O’Neill Award in 2023.

IN HIS HOME NATION 🇨🇦

Happy Thanksgiving, Josh! #SeizeTheMoment pic.twitter.com/4vcErXJPhP

— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) October 13, 2025

The graduate of St. Joan of Arc Secondary School in Mississauga and 2015 first-round draft pick of the Miami Marlins remained in the news following the end of the 2025 baseball season as well.

In mid-November, it was announced that Naylor had signed a five-year contract with Seattle that will earn for him $92.5 million over the length of the deal.

Prior to the trade deadline this past July 31, Naylor was dealt to the Mariners from the National League’s Arizona Diamondbacks. It was the second time in seven months the powerful left-handed Canadian slugger had been traded.

Last Dec. 21, he was dealt to Arizona from Cleveland, where he had spent the previous five seasons, including 2023 and 2024 playing alongside his younger brother and Guardians’ catcher, Bo Naylor, 25.

Josh Naylor, a first-time all-star in 2024, made his MLB debut in 2019 with the San Diego Padres, spending just over a season with the NL West club before being traded to the AL Central Cleveland Guardians in 2020.

For his regular-season career, the 5-foot-10, 235-pound Mississauga native has 104 homers and 435 RBIs to go along with a .269 batting average.

Bo Naylor driving in Josh was the 4th instance in a postseason game of a brother driving in brother, joining:

2001 ALDS G4: Jeremy Giambi > Jason Giambi
1996 NLDS G2: Tony Gwynn > Chris Gwynn
1927 WS G2: Paul Waner > Lloyd Waner

h/t @EliasSports https://t.co/TgHg6OK6Dn

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 20, 2024

So far in their relatively young professional baseball careers, Josh and Bo Naylor have already set a few records and realized some other pretty cool accomplishments, too.

During the 2024 playoffs, as teammates with the Guardians, the Naylors became the fourth set of brothers to ever have one drive home the other with a base hit during post-season play.

The pair have also shown in their brief time together in the big leagues they have a penchant for dramatic moments.

Not only did Josh and Bo hit home runs in the same inning in a game during the 2024 regular season to help the Guardians to victory, they did so on National Siblings Day (celebrated in both the U.S. and Canada) of all days.

And that wasn’t the first time the Naylors accomplished the feat. They pulled it off initially one season earlier, on July 14, 2023 in Texas.