SCOTTSDALE — Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Josh Naylor knew he had to take off from first base.

With his good friend Luke Maile catching for the Kansas City Royals at Salt River Fields on Tuesday, Naylor had his opportunity for a year’s worth of bragging rights.

His jump was perfect, and despite a strong throw from Maile, Naylor dove in safely.

“Honestly, I don’t really like to steal in spring, but Maile is one of my good friends,” Naylor explained. “We have this thing every spring where if he’s catching, I have to steal, and he’s thrown me out the last two years. So this year, I made sure I worked on my speed a little bit more to get that one bag off him.”

Diamondbacks 1B Josh Naylor got his good friend Luke Maile back today with a stolen base off the Royals catcher:

“We have this thing every spring where if he’s catching, I have to steal.” pic.twitter.com/xaHhqydcAa

— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) March 11, 2025

Naylor and Maile were teammates on the 2022 Cleveland Guardians, and Maile spent the last two seasons with the Cincinnati Reds. As neighbors playing Cactus League home games at Goodyear Ballpark, Maile earned the early upper hand.

“This year, he’s gonna get a nice, long text from me that he’s got a terrible arm,” Naylor joked. “He’s incredible. Has such a great career. He’s a great leader, great friend, incredible teammate. I could say a million things about that guy. So we have this little (competition) going on every spring if we see each other.”

Spring training traditions can be unique, and this challenge has not translated to the regular season when outs are a bit more precious. Not to say that won’t ever happen.

Naylor stole six bases last season after a career-high 10 in 2023.

When asked whether he will set a new high this year, his first with Arizona, he said, “For sure.”

Naylor has been a spring training standout after the D-backs acquired him via trade from Cleveland, as the veteran is batting .483 through his first 11 games.

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