CLEVELAND, Ohio — Bo Naylor has joined the Cleveland Guardians for their final seven regular season games, and though the club’s No. 5 prospect is not on the active roster, or expected to see any game action, the experience of being around a championship club is one that he is embracing fully.
Naylor, the younger brother of Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor, was Cleveland’s first-round draft pick in 2018. Once Josh was acquired in a 2020 trade from San Diego, the two knew it was only a matter of time before they would have the chance to share a major league clubhouse.
But for that opportunity to take place during a playoff run is beyond anything either could have expected.
“Everything that I tell him, he’s over the moon for it, he’s a really supportive brother,” Bo Naylor said. “He’s always behind me 100%. It’s really good to be able to be with him here and be able to share this experience with him.”
The assigmnent for Bo Naylor over the next 10 days or so is simple: soak in everything you can about being around a big league club, catch a few bullpens and warm up relievers and stay ready in case there’s an opportunity due to injury.
“Just being able to shadow Hedgie and Maile and be able to kind of see how they do their things and know what to expect at this level,” Naylor said, “and really just take everything I can to add to my game and really just be here for the team and do whatever I can do to help and make this an amazing experience.”
Naylor rebounded from a rough 2021 season to put up impressive numbers splitting time between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus. He hit .263 with an .888 OPS, 21 home runs and 68 RBI in 118 games. He also swiped 20 bases batting out of the leadoff spot on numerous occasions.
Offensively, Naylor made improvements in the mental approach to his game, but he also made mechanical adjustments early on that paid off.
“There were a few guys over in Arizona in the past offseason that helped get me through this whole season,” Naylor said. “I had a goal in mind to be as consistent as possible in my routine, my breathing and my overall mentality going into the game. All that really came together from start to finish to this point and I’m really happy with it.”
President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said it starts to get exciting to think about the possibilities with Naylor.
“I don’t think there have been too many 20/20 seasons in the last handful of years for a minor league catcher,” Antonetti said. “If you look around the game, there aren’t that many catchers that are capable of doing what he’s able to do.”
The part of Naylor’s game behind the plate where he made the greatest strides this season was his game-calling. He made a serious effort to get to know his pitchers and the guys he was working with, to see what kind of stuff they like to use in certain counts, to see their stuff.
“Working with the pitching coaches I was with this year and keeping an open dialogue, that really helped my game-calling and overall my defensive experience,” Naylor said.
Watching several of his teammates from Akron and Columbus reach the big leagues this season has made him look forward to his own debut, which seems to draw closer by the day.
“Every opportunity that came to those guys, I was really happy for them,” Naylor said. “Those guys are all like my brothers and I feel like over the years, the relationships that we’ve built, we share those moments and every new opportunity that was presented with all those call-ups, I was over-the-moon ecstatic for them and it makes you more excited to have that kind of experience for yourself.”
Guardians AL Central championship merchandise for sale: Here’s where you can get Cleveland Guardians gear commemorating their AL Central Division title, including T-shirts, hats, hoodies, and much more.
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