'Just the kind of guy that he is': Naylor goes to CF, checks on injured friend Straw

TORONTO -- Diamondbacks first baseman Josh Naylor blasted a drive to deep center on Tuesday night, sending Blue Jays center fielder Myles Straw on a dead sprint back to the wall. Straw reached for the ball, coming up just short before slamming into the wall.

Naylor raised his hands and grabbed the top of his helmet before reaching second base when he saw that Straw wasn’t getting up.

Naylor turned to the umpire to make sure time was out and then made his way quickly out to center field to check on Straw. While it’s common to see opposing players check on one another in close proximity, for Naylor to go all the way to the center-field wall drew plenty of attention.

Straw and Naylor had been teammates in Cleveland from 2021-24, and in that moment, Straw was a friend and not an opponent.

“I'm very thankful for the relationship we have,” Naylor said. “So I hated to see him go down. He's like a brother to me, so I just want to make sure he was all right. I got to know his daughter very well [in Cleveland], my wife got to know his wife very well. They're really good friends. So I just don't want to see him hurt, you know. I mean, it's the worst thing with someone on the field to see them hurt. I've been through tremendous pain on the field, and I just wanted to make sure he was all right.”

Straw was forced to leave the game with what the team said was a right ankle sprain.

“He was apologetic to Myles, and they played together,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “We didn't really say much. He just said, 'Hey man, hope you're OK,' basically, which, you know, pretty cool. You never really see an opposing runner go all the way out to center. Canadians have nice manners.”

Naylor, who was born and raised not far outside Toronto, was traded from the Guardians to the Diamondbacks during this past offseason and quickly made an impression in the Arizona clubhouse with his personality.

“Naylor is a great guy,” closer Shelby Miller said. “Cares, you know? I mean, Josh has been great the whole time he's been here. He's just the guy who keeps his head down and works hard and is locked in 100 percent of the time ready to play. He’s a great teammate, great person.”

It was not a gesture that veteran pitcher Zac Gallen could remember seeing before.

“I've seen maybe at, like, first base, where the play is a little closer, but not someone go all the way out there like that,” Gallen said. “Naylor’s a good dude, so I’m not shocked by the gesture. I think he’s a guy who enjoys and cares about the guys he plays with. So I’m not surprised he did that, it’s just the kind of guy that he is.”