Sunday’s Cleveland Guardians–Seattle Mariners matchup at Progressive Field featured a heated exchange between two former teammates. Reportedly, Austin Hedges yelled at Josh Naylor that nobody liked him. While the incident was limited to a verbal confrontation, another of Naylor’s former teammates later revealed a much darker incident from the past.

“Josh Naylor liked to play stupid games… The guy hid in my closet waiting for me to get home. When I went to hang my shirt up, he jumped out with a knife pointed at me. It caught my thumb, sliced it wide open,” Stone Garrett shared an incident from June 2016. 

The MLB veteran and Naylor were the No. 4 and 5 prospects for the Miami Marlins in 2016. According to some reports, the duo were roommates during their time in Miami and were close friends. Garrett further added that the first thing Naylor asked after he returned from the ER due to the prank was whether he was pressing charges. The coach had asked the team to keep a lid on it. However, by then, the story was already out.

“Naylor has a reputation of being a bit of a prankster, but this one obviously went a little too far,” Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said after they placed Garrett on the disabled list. 

Meanwhile, Stone’s agent, Larry Reynolds, pushed back against the reports, clearly stating that Garrett was not a willing participant. 

“The injury was not a result of horseplay of any kind,’’ Reynolds said in a statement. “Also, the two players are not roommates, as previously reported. It is our hope and expectation that Stone will have a successful surgery and recovery so that he can resume playing baseball in the very near future.’’

While he had to undergo surgery, Naylor received a one-game suspension. The Marlins even traded Josh away the next month, and Garrett was sidelined for a significant period. 

How the injury interrupted one of Miami’s brightest prospects

Stone Garrett entered 2016 as one of the best prospects from Miami. He was the Minor League Player of the Year in the previous season. But the incident with Josh Naylor kept him out of the game for 6 weeks. This was a serious setback for a cornerstone player. 

He had hit 11 HRs over 58 games with a .581 SLG in 2015. And the slugger was batting at .320 before he underwent surgery the next year. That’s why it was a huge concern for the franchise. Garrett was having a strong May in 2016, and suddenly, he had nerve damage. The Marlins even took him to a hand specialist to make sure he could make a solid recovery. 

However, Garrett eventually made it to the major leagues. But it wasn’t a huge tenure. He debuted in 2022 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and moved away within two years. He had a career batting average of .276 with 14 HRs. A fractured left fibula and a torn ankle ligament in 2023 limited his appearances in 2023 and he ultimately chose to retire in 2025. 

Sunday’s verbal exchange between Josh Naylor and Austin Hedges wasn’t something hugely unusual in MLB. But it dug out a not-so-pleasant experience from Naylor’s teammate.

It all started in the top of the sixth inning, when Naylor stepped to the plate. With the Mariners leading, Guardians reliever Tim Herrin threw a curveball on a 1-0 count that struck Naylor on the elbow. Although he appeared to be fine afterward, MLB rules state that a batter must make an effort to avoid being hit by a pitch in order to be awarded first base. However, that rule is rarely enforced.

Hedges didn’t like that call.

Meanwhile, the Guardians players accused him of intentionally putting his elbow out on a breaking ball.

“You f— loser,” said Naylor, per Jomboy Media, sparking a reaction from Hedges.

“No one likes you. Literally nobody likes you,” Hedges yelled at Josh Naylor on Sunday, per Jomboy Media’s tweet, which has garnered 2.7 million views at the time of writing this.

Moving on, one prank gone bad doesn’t necessarily paint an ugly picture of an individual. And while Garrett has revealed stories from the past, Naylor hasn’t offered any comment on them.