CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – It’s been a long road to get to the Major Leagues for Bo Naylor, but as of Saturday afternoon around 2:30 p.m., the younger Naylor has finally arrived.
The Cleveland Guardians called-up catcher Naylor from Triple-A Columbus ahead of Saturday night’s game with the Kansas City Royals. Naylor’s callup comes as the season winds down and indicates the club could opt to carry three catchers into the postseason with Austin Hedges, Luke Maile and Naylor.
“We’re trying to set up a roster the best we think we can,” said manager Terry Francona. “This was something that we felt we wanted to get to and try to get to it before the season was over. So give the kid a little bit of chance to play a game or two.”
The younger brother of Josh Naylor, Bo Naylor put up impressive numbers splitting time between Double-A Akron and Columbus. He hit .263 with an .888 OPS belting 21 home runs and 68 RBIs in 118 games.
But the only way the Naylor brothers will be resembling the Bash Brothers is in name only. Josh’s personality bares a stark contrast to his younger brother, who he frequently refers to by his birth name Noah.
“I told Bo, slash Noah, ‘hey, man if you headbutt me,’” Francona said with a laugh.
Francona said the younger Naylor’s bat will provide an instant jolt to the offense at the catcher spot where it is sorely needed. Austin Hedges recently snapped an 0-for-36 slump Friday night and Luke Maile has hit .206 in 74 games this season.
As a result, the Guardians have done a lot of pinch-hitting for the catcher position recently. Naylor’s bat and legs will provide flexibility in pinch-hit situations.
“If you pinch hit him, you don't have to pinch run for him,” Francona said.
In a corresponding move infielder Tyler Freeman was optioned to Columbus. With Gabriel Arias in on the roster, Francona felt the flexibility Arias provided allowed for him to play multiple positions, including the outfield.
“We don't pinch hit for any of our infielders, so we didn't need a third one,” Francona said.
Welcome back Plesac – Zach Plesac was activated from the 15-day Injured List to pitch against the Royals Saturday night.
The 27-year-old right hander returns from a month-long stint on the shelf with a broken hand. It’s been an up and down year for Plesac, who won in his last start on August 27th that snaped a career-long seven game losing streak.
Francona didn’t say if Plesac would be on a pitch-count but said they wouldn’t monitor how he performs and use that to determine how long he pitches Saturday night.
“We might leave him out there so he can kind of find himself,” Francona said. “If he's doing really good, do we leave him out there or do we say ‘he feels good about himself, let's get him out so we can bring him back and throw him out of the bullpen.”
So Long, Shaw – The Guardians also designated Bryan Shaw for assignment on Saturday. Shaw has been with the team for two different stints, and outside of Jose Ramirez was the only member of team that made it to the 2016 World Series.
Francona acknowledged that Shaw’s impact on the organization was more important than what some of his stats indicate. The right-handed reliever has struggled at times this year and appeared in 60 games with the Guardians logging a 5.40 ERA in 58.1 IP but has a low strikeout rate of 19.9 percent.
He has eaten up a lot of innings this season allowing the bullpen to rest other arms.
“I know there's a segment of people out there that don't appreciate Brian because I get the mail,” Francona said. “It's like it's like that pulling guard that misses a block every once and a while and it's the only time you notice him.”
Francona didn’t entirely rule out that the DFA meant the end of Shaw’s tenure with the Guardians, saying there’s a possibility he could be back with the club at some point.