PHOENIX -- One day after Christian Walker agreed to a three-year, $60 million free-agent deal with the Astros, the Diamondbacks filled his spot by acquiring first baseman Josh Naylor in a trade with the Guardians on Saturday.

In return, the D-backs will send Minor League right-hander Slade Cecconi and their Competitive Balance Round B Draft pick to Cleveland.

TRADE DETAILS
D-backs acquire: 1B Josh Naylor
Guardians acquire: RHP Slade Cecconi, Competitive Balance Round B Draft pick

The 27-year-old Naylor hit .243/.320/.456 in 2024, his first All-Star season. He is eligible for salary arbitration this winter before becoming a free agent following the 2025 season.

With Walker set to leave via free agency and his designated hitter platoon of Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk also expected to sign elsewhere, Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen prioritized bolstering the team's offense.

Naylor certainly helps make up for some of the lost offense, as his career-high 31 homers and 108 RBIs last season show. He also managed to play in a career-best 152 games.

"We felt like he fits into the middle of our lineup pretty significantly, the thump," Hazen said. "He's a good hitter. He's got really good makeup, [and] we felt like he was a nice fit in our clubhouse with the guys that we have. We think it's going to be a good match."

Knowing that Walker was likely to sign elsewhere, the Diamondbacks had been engaged in the first base trade and free-agent market for the past two months. They had been talking to the Guardians for a while, but things ramped up over the past few days as other first basemen started to come off the board.

Walker signed with the Astros, and Paul Goldschmidt agreed to a deal with the Yankees.

"It seemed the entire industry was focused on this position over the last few days," Hazen said.

The Guardians pivoted after trading Naylor and signed free agent Carlos Santana to a one-year deal. Through arbitration this offseason, Naylor could earn around $12 million, which is just about what Goldschmidt and Santana signed for and is $8 million less than Walker is set to earn annually in Houston.

"We've had an eye on this entire [first base] market," Hazen said. "[Naylor] is a really good player. Trades are tough to pull off, so I never know if I'm going to be able to do anything like that, and then you don't know where free agency is going to go. So, we kept our irons in the fire. It's taken a long time [for this market] to settle."

Here are some other things to keep in mind following the deal:

The Diamondbacks probably aren't done looking for more offense
Arizona has the flexibility to continue to add offense because the designated hitter spot remains unfilled. That doesn't mean that the Diamondbacks will add a DH, but it does give them the flexibility to do so or to add another position player and shift someone else to DH.

Pavin Smith should still have a role
The biggest beneficiary to Walker leaving figured to be Pavin Smith. The 2017 first-round pick has never gotten an extended look at the position and has had to get his at-bats by playing mainly in the outfield.

The organization still believes in Smith's ability to hit and was encouraged by his performance in the second half last year.

"[It] leaves him in a similar spot that he was in before," Hazen said. "Maybe he's not playing as much first base, but we still anticipate him getting his hacks in, and we want to see what that bat can do."

There's still a lot up in the air
In addition to possibly adding to the offense, Hazen has said adding a back-end reliever with closing experience is one of his priorities.

Whether that comes via a trade or free agency remains to be seen. The Diamondbacks would appear to have some money to spend, though Hazen has been tightlipped about what the team's payroll will be this year, and they also still have pieces they could trade.

One of those could be starter Jordan Montgomery, who is owed $23.5 million for 2025 after a disappointing 2024 season. Moving him would free up even more money.

And while the Diamondbacks believed Cecconi is capable of being a Major League starter, they still have plenty of organizational depth.

"We're involved in both markets," Hazen said, referring to the trade and free-agent markets. "I can't really handicap which direction our next move will come from."