Mariners' walk-off bliss crashes into their first post-deadline buzzkill

The Seattle Mariners are ostensibly riding high right now. They have become the darlings of the American League since loading up at the trade deadline, and it is partly because of their newcomers that they have won four in a row and six out of seven.

On the other hand, Josh Naylor is hurt.

This was a big storyline even as the Mariners were still trying to finish off the Chicago White Sox at T-Mobile Park on Thursday. Naylor left in the top of the fourth inning after he was seen grimacing while swinging in the bottom of the third, the footage of which was passed along by Daniel Kramer of MLB.com:

The first bit of good news is that the Mariners managed to win the game 4-3, with Dominic Canzone playing the hero with a walk-off single in the 11th. They're now 1.5 games back of the Houston Astros in the AL West, and 1.5 games up on the New York Yankees for the second wild card spot.

The other bit of good news is that Naylor is day-to-day with shoulder soreness, according to manager Dan Wilson.

An injured Josh Naylor is the last thing the Mariners need

Hopefully, this will end up being like that time in May when Julio Rodríguez was ominously scratched from the starting lineup only to be totally fine. He missed just one game, and was 1-for-5 with an RBI in his return. It remains a mere blip on what is turning into another outstanding season for the 2022 AL Rookie of the Year.

Until we know more, though, the Naylor situation is similarly a little too ominous for comfort.

He's only been with the Mariners for two weeks, but that is all he's needed to become a fan favorite and something of a team legend. He entered Thursday's action with 10 stolen bases in 10 tries, not to mention three (mostly clobbered) home runs. He even already has a nickname derived from his intense demeanor: "Big Grumper."

Even if Naylor has to miss just a handful of games, it'll be a bummer at best and legitimately disadvantageous for the Mariners at worst. With Luke Raley still out with back spasms, Naylor is the only thing standing between the Mariners and having Donovan Solano back at first base. Solano has four hits since the start of July.

Should Naylor have to go on the injured list — which, to be clear, is a purely speculative outcome for now — for any length of time, well, that is when you would hope that the Mariners could call on someone solid to fill in. Someone like, say, Tyler Locklear...but he's gone now.

The bottom line is that it's fingers crossed for Naylor around these parts. The Mariners only have so much time to ride the high of Thursday's W, after all. The Tampa Bay Rays are in Seattle for three games starting on Friday.