DETROIT — As the Mariners rolled through Monday afternoon’s workout at Comerica Park, getting their bodies moving after an overnight flight and arriving in Detroit at 6 a.m. local time, there was a player noticeably missing on the field.
First baseman Josh Naylor, normally clad in a wool Mariners beanie and customized hockey shirt with “Naylz” on the back, was not on the field for the infield work.
Asked in his post workout media session, manager Dan Wilson confirmed Naylor is not with the team in Detroit “due to personal reasons.”
This isn’t an unexpected absence. Naylor’s wife, Chantel Collado, is pregnant with the couple’s first child and was due Friday. Naylor’s plan was to fly to Arizona the moment his wife went into labor.
Wilson didn’t provide any details on the status of Naylor’s situation, saying “we’ll know more tomorrow.”
The Mariners can place Naylor on the paternity list — giving him three days off from the team — and call up a player from their taxi squad to take his place. Seattle has infielders Miles Mastrobuoni, Cole Young and Ben Williamson with the team.
Mastrobuoni was taking groundballs at first base with Luke Raley at Comerica Park and has been in each of the pregame workouts. Eugenio Suarez has also one some infield work at first base in anticipation of Naylor’s absence.
The Mariners won’t have to announce a roster move for Naylor until Tuesday morning.
“We’ll just cross that bridge as we get there,” Wilson said. “But I think we’ve got a plan in place, and we’ll just be ready when it happens.”
Wilson was also coy about naming a starting pitcher for Game 4 in the series. While it’s expected to be right-hander Bryce Miller, Wilson wouldn’t provide any confirmation. The Mariners are required to name their Game 4 starter on Tuesday. Wilson also waited to name Logan Gilbert as the Game 3 starter.
“Again, we’re just looking at it as we go.,” Wilson said. “Right now, our focus is on (Tuesday) and starting Logan in Game 3. We’re looking forward to continuing a little bit of the momentum that we had coming out of Game 2.”
Seattle scheduled to face the Tigers at 1:08 p.m. PT, Tuesday, in Game 3 of their American League Division Series. The series is tied 1-1.
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Mariners pitching coach Pete Woodworth met with a few reporters after the workout. He provided an update on Bryan Woo, who is working his way back from a mild pectoral strain.
“Every day he’s getting better,” Woodworth said. “I wish I had a day to say this is when he’ll be 100%, but trending is always a good thing.”
Woo played catch pregame with pitchers and did some conditioning. The Mariners hope he would available to pitch in the American League Championship Series if they advanced past Detroit.