The Guardians announced a quartet of roster moves, including the activation of Zach Plesac from the 15-day injured list and the selection of Bo Naylor’s contract from Triple-A. To create roster space, infielder Tyler Freeman was optioned to Triple-A, and right-hander Bryan Shaw was designated for assignment.
This will be Naylor’s first taste of Major League action, as the 22-year-old will get a chance at making his debut in the Show before the 2022 season is over, and the unique thrill of suiting up alongside older brother Josh. The 29th overall pick of the 2018 draft, the younger Naylor is rated as the 58th-best prospect in the sport by Baseball America, while MLB Pipeline has Naylor rated 75th.
It hasn’t exactly been a smooth ride for Naylor in the minors, as after posting respectable numbers in his first two pro seasons, he and countless other prospects had to sit out the canceled 2020 minor league season. While Naylor still got some reps at Cleveland’s alternate training site, the lack of proper game action seemed to severely impact him in 2021, when he hit only .189/.280/.332 over 335 plate appearances for Double-A Akron.
Remaining at Double-A to begin 2022, Naylor has now regained his status as a potential catcher of the future for the Guardians. Naylor has hit a cumulative .263/.392/.496 with 21 home runs over 510 PA this season (220 PA at Double-A, 290 at Triple-A). As per Pipline’s scouting report, Naylor got on track “by using a much more disciplined approach and utilizing the opposite field more often,” which also bodes well for his longer-term development as a big league-caliber hitter.
Cleveland has long prioritized defense at the catcher position, and Naylor has also drawn solid reviews for his blocking and framing ability. He could continue the Guardians’ focus on glovework while also bringing some much-needed pop behind the plate, if he delivers on his potential at the MLB level. Naylor is also the rare catcher who has five-tool ability, as he stole 20 bases in 24 chances in the minors this season.
As much as the Guards have relied on young players to fuel their run to the AL Central crown, it probably seems likely that the team will stick with the veteran duo of Austin Hedges and Luke Maile heading into the postseason. Naylor’s presence does at least give the Guardians another potential option to consider for the playoffs, but this late-season call-up could be more about rewarding Naylor for his big season and taking a look to the future. Hedges is a free agent this winter, so Cleveland could potentially head into 2023 with a tandem of Naylor and Maile (who is still arbitration-eligible), though there has been speculation that the Guardians could make a bigger move at catcher, such as past trade target Sean Murphy.
Plesac will start today’s game against the Royals, as the righty returns after missing just over a month of action. Plesac suffered a fracture in his pinkie finger in rather unusual fashion, as he punched the mound in frustration after allowing a Jake Lamb home run in his last start on August 27.
The injury continued what has been a rough season overall for Plesac, who has a respectable 4.39 ERA over 127 innings but also a slate of unimpressive Statcast numbers. It remains to be seen whether Plesac will get any consideration for a postseason start should the Guardians advance beyond the wild card series, and in the bigger picture, there have been some whispers about whether or not Cleveland could look to trade Plesac this winter. Though Plesac still has all three years of arbitration eligibility remaining, questions about Plesac’s maturity and focus have been asked for the last few seasons, and the Guardians could prefer to sell relatively high on Plesac as a controllable young starter.
The DFA likely brings an end to Shaw’s latest stint in Cleveland, as the veteran righty returned on a one-year, $3MM free agent deal in March. That contract contained a $4MM team option for 2023, yet it already looked like the Guards would instead use their $500K buyout rather than exercise Shaw’s option. The 34-year-old has eaten a lot of innings (58 1/3) out of the bullpen this year, but has a 5.40 ERA and a below-average 19.9% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate.
This isn’t the first time Shaw has run into some struggles, as his 2021 season helped right the ship after a shaky three-year stretch with the Rockies and Mariners. Returning to Cleveland on a minor league deal in the 2020-21 offseason, Shaw posted a 3.49 ERA over 77 1/3 innings and a league-leading 81 appearances. However, his inability to recapture that form in 2022 now puts Shaw on the outside of the Guardians’ playoff roster plans.
Wow! It’s a full on youth movement in Cleveland. This essentially means Bo is making the wild card roster at the minimum.
That last paragraph is weird. You’d think they’d mention Bo’s numbers in 2022.
My thoughts exactly. He had a pretty good run this year at double/triple A to vault him back into contention as a top 100 prospect.
@USA – I’m sure that’ll be clarified in the “more to come…” but you’d think they would have just cut that last paragraph for later. Odd place to stop your article.
As a former Indians fan I think they should designate the name “Guardians” & activate a more qualified name for the future.
The roster is 28 now, reduced to 26 in the play offs, no way he’s making the play off roster
@Bill Civale isn’t going to be on the wild card roster. That takes it down to 27. Is there any reason to carry McCarty in a three game series? Down to 26.
Bo’s making it. The only decision I see now is Freeman v. Miller v. Arias.
Freeman was sent down, and Tito likes having extra arms in the pen, Civale had pitched great lately and can be helpful out of the pen. Teams don’t carry 3 catchers in the postseason
@ohiodevil – Civale is pitching the last regular season game of the year and unless they’re bringing Bieber back on short rest for game 1 of the ALDS, Civale will have to pitch that game. Tito has already said that he essentially won’t be available to pitch in the wild card round. Freeman being sent down is irrelevant unless there is some rule I am unaware of. He can still be selected to the wild card roster.
As far as teams not carrying three catchers, Cleveland did in 2016.
What 3 catchers did they carry in 2016? Gomes and Perez were the 2 catchers on that team. If you’re thinking Gimenez, he also could play 1b and LF, but he never appeared so I don’t think he was on the postseason roster.
Dude move on……call them what you want and move on
@ohiodevil – Giminez is correct. He was on the 2016 ALDS roster. The writing is on the wall. I can’t see any other reason to activate Naylor with 5 games left in the regular season.
I honestly think they want to give Hedges and Maile some rest and also take a look at Bo in games that don’t matter, kinda tough to toss a guy into the fire this soon, especially since he bounced back this year after a terribe 2021. I’m just excited to see him in the bigs.
Hedges and Maile basically alternate every other game, so I don’t believe rest is a factor. I think the thought process is that you could potentially pitch hit for either with Naylor and not have to burn someone on the bench. He’s a switch hitter that can run as you know. They could even pitch run with him if Hesges or Maile get on and again not burn a guy on the bench. Offers a lot of flexibility. I’m excited to see him too, even if in a limited role.
I think if he played another position he would be a lock, but I see them carrying both Freeman and Arias over Bo. And he’s only a lefty like his brother.
I stand corrected. Don’t know why I was thinking he was a switch hitter all this time. That’s a lot of infielders when Jose, Rosario, Giminez aren’t coming out of the game and you’d only be able to hit for your catcher once.
And Andre Knott answered this for us during broadcast, guess Tito said he wants the option in case of extra innings and they pinch hit for catchers. Excited to see what Bo does now that he’s in the game tonight!
Interesting!
What if the Guardians draft Myles Naylor next June?
If that happens, according to naylor-lore, the three siblings merge together to form some Naylor Hydra. Which Cleveland should really try to do. I get the negative is losing two able-bodied players to make one player of the three, but we don’t know how good the Naylor amalgamation could be.
They absolutely have to draft Myles. Gotta collect them all..
Naylor? I hardly know her!
Regarding Bo Naylor: Yeah, he did pretty good in ’18 & ’19 as an 18 & 19 yr old. He missed ’20 (as did all minor leaguers), where he probably would’ve been in Hi-A with a potential promotion to AA. So, was it really a surprise to see him struggle (for a while) at AA while being close to 3 yrs below league average for the level? Looking forward to seeing him in Cleveland next year.
I should go to Cleveland to catch a Browns game. Probably might to have to get a heavy winter coat and a few bottles of pepper spray first
Naylor posted a 20 HR, 20 steal season this year in the minors. 20 steals as a catcher is pretty rare. This year Realmuto pulled off 20/20, he was the first since Ivan Rodriguez in 1999. With the new rules on holding runners and the bigger bases next year, stealing is very likely going to be a bigger part of the game. Naylor could end up strongly impacting the game there.
It’s not gonna take much on his part to improve on what they’ve gotten offensively from Hedges & Maile. I know CLE values defense at C first and foremost, but I think they’d get more production by letting the pitchers hit for themselves and DH for the catcher.
Col_chestbridge;
I watch a lot of Realmuto with the Phillies. If Bo becomes even 60% as good as him Cleveland has something special.
He’s probably the reason they won’t trade with the A’s for Sean Murphy at this time. Surely they’ll want one of the Guardians prime SS prospects as well as another prospect or two. But if Bo can even give them something part-time in 2023 he’ll take over in 2024 making Murphy superfluous.
Want to see him handle a staff and call a game though. In that regard Sandy Alomar, Jr. might well be the best catchers coach in MLB, along with the catching coach of the Brewers. Should be interesting to see how he comes along in 2023.
The suggested ask for Murphy was one of two of the Guardians two best pitching prospects (Espino and Williams) and one of two of the Guardians best position player prospects (Valera and Rocchoi). Cleveland’s Front Office sets the value for their prospects (their lifeblood) with the A’s unwilling to consider other prospects. As neither party was willing to compromise.. no deal or futher discussions were possible. Perhaps the coming off season may change that.. IDK..
If that’s true, that’s a huge ask and I understand why Cleveland said no. Not that there is anything wrong with Oakland seeking that return for Murphy. In the offseason, if Cleveland does make a serious push for Murphy, I would guess that they would offer 1 of Williams/Bibee and 1 of Arias/Freeman/Jones as the headliners with 2 additional low level high ceiling prospects. That would be a solid offer on the table.
The only real reason to get Murphy right now is service time manipulation. If Bo is ready, he should be their guy next year with Maile as his backup. The Guardians do need to trade se of their middle infield depth because they’re already running into issues where Gabriel Arias – known as a great defender at SS – is getting 1B time to try to take Owen Miller’s spot and Tyler Freeman saw very little opportunity since being called up. They would do well to deal Tena and Freeman for… something. It also would make sense to deal Rosario this offseason given his limited club control and the other options available there.
The question is what do they get? Murphy would have made sense this year. Next year I think a rotation guy might make sense – an upgrade over Plesac. I don’t know who that would be though.
They have a crunch with the 40 man.
Right now I don’t see them trading much of anyone other then possibly Miller because he can’t play SS as well as the other guys and all of them can play 2B. All those players are good, and trading one at this time is premature – they might be giving away a future star. As for Rosario – he’s a team leader and one of the few veterans. Even if his contract is extended it’ll be affordable.
I do think they’ll try to add a starting pitcher this offseason – but they may get someone they feel they can work with in FA.
They should be big time contenders in 2023 and may do something at the deadline as things sort out.
Well I can’t imagine that Bo will be as good as Murphy next year. That’s some super lofty expectations for a rookie catcher. He might never be as good as Murphy. We just don’t know. That just feels like a pretty obvious guy to make a trade for. Murphy and Naylor can share the duties and in a year or two, Naylor can catch 120-130 games if he does pan out.
The other obvious need is in CF. Can Kwan be as good defensively in CF has he has been in LF? If he can, an upgrade over Straw makes sense. At the same time, you have Valera waiting.
A starting pitcher makes a lot of sense. Miami has them. And what did they come out and say they would be targeting this offseason…contact first hitters. Look no further.
CyBieber;
Interesting…..
I hadn’t thought of moving Kwan to CF if Myles Straw doesn’t pick up his hitting. Primarily I want to see more of Benson and Brennan out there. Then again, Valera may be up next year and Jones could be coming back……with Kwan that makes 5 LH hitters in the OF. Opponents will be calling up LH pitchers from the minors to start games against Cleveland – that happened before under Shapiro-Antonetti….and those pitchers were shutting them down. Who knows, maybe one of the young SS’s can be moved to CF….maybe Straw reworks his approach and swing over the winter and comes back hitting .270 / .330 when the shift goes away……and he already is a base stealer which will be a lot easier to do in 2023.
I’d get over Murphy. He’s going to be expensive to trade for, and he’s not going to be happy sharing catching with a youngster that wants to get more and more playing time. They found Maile this year and he’s done a fine job. If not him they can find another back-up veteran. This is a team based on run prevention / pitching. They need calling a game and defense from a Catcher to support their pitchers. Hitting is a bonus. I think the timing is off for Murphy – if Naylor had been up a year-and-a half and wasn’t cutting it…OK.
The main thing is that they’re loaded with good young players. They have a HOF manger and an excellent coaching staff. At some point they’ll trade some of their excess for something they need…..but right now they don’t know what that is.
And yes…..Miami is a very good possibility – they can send them 2-3 contact hitting position players for a starter.
@Samuel
There’s really not a lot of holes to fill, but with a piece here or there, I really could see them competing with the top clubs as early as next year. I just don’t want to see all these young promising infielders lose trade value over time because they’re stuck in the system. I believe Arias only has one more option year remaining and his stock has already dropped after an up and down year. I have no idea where Freeman is going to fit in. If he’s a better version of Owen Miller, I don’t know how much value that holds. Can’t find a spot for Jones with the emergence of Kwan, Gonzo, and J. Naylor and like you said, another leftie.
Personally, I wouldn’t trade Rosario. I probably wouldn’t extend him either. You’re not gonna get much of return at all for him with just one year remaining. Rocchio appears to be the next big thing, but he could use more seasoning in AAA to start 2023. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to just let Ahmed play out his contract.
They’re in a great spot as an organization. Having too many talented young prospects and not enough spots on the roster is a good thing and eventually it’ll play itself out. I do expect them to be aggressive this offseason in the trade market but it’s going to be under their terms. It’s important to remember too that it’s unlikely Bieber is going to sign an extension. He’s too close to free agency. That should factor into their plans. Also, Jose isn’t getting younger. They should and will keep that in mind too. Not that he still won’t be a good player, but just maybe not as elite as he’s been.
1. I expect Rosario to get an extension this offseason – if not then I do think they trade him to get something back. It appears he’d like to stay.
2. Braxton Garrett of the Marlins is a LH thrower that won’t be a FA till 2028. But Pablo López only has 2 years of control left. A small market team just beginning contention isn’t giving up good young players with 4-5 years of control for a guy with 2 years. Garrett is a possibility, but they’ll be looking at other teams as well.
3. I too think Bieber is gone. But it looked like Jose was as well last offseason. Doesn’t matter. They’ve got young pitchers in the high minors, and players to trade to pick up a few more pitchers. Plus they’re extremely bright in finding pitchers they can work with in Rule 5, the waiver wire, and that are unheralded free agents.
4. They and the Orioles are so well positioned for the next 5 years it’s almost hard to believe any team – let alone small market teams – could do this.
2. I mean, they made a very serious run at Matt Olson this past offseason and he only had two more years left of team control and the team didn’t have near the certainty it does now.
Shaw was extremely bad in too many appearances this year.
I know Cleveland is as loyal to their players as an MLB team can be, but was surprised Show lasted as long as he did on the roster this year.
I think a combination of all the double headers they’ve played this year plus the extra inning games kept him on the roster. In the 2nd half Francona mainly used him for garbage time innings which he handled well. Not enough left in the tank for any leverage innings at this point, though.
@Solaris He’s actually been significantly better in high leverage situations. He’s been awful in mop up time.
When is the last time two brothers played on the same team? The ripkin brothers?
Caleb and Corban Joseph with the 2018 Orioles
The Romine brothers on the Cubs last year. IIRC, Austin caught Andrew in one game.
As regulars? Alomar maybe Hairston. Molina shared catching duty.
Freeman down means Arias locked down the playoffs UT spot?
Not necessarily. They might just want to get more of a look at Arias in the five remaining games and you’re not going to burn an option year sending Owen down with 5 games left.
If Gabriel Arias makes the post season roster over Tyler Freeman it’s because of Arias’ power in AAA. Freeman is a better defender and hitter so far in MLB. Arias hasn’t hit and made a couple mental errors. Owen Miller might just be good enough for the post season without Arias and Freeman. He can handle the corners and DH.
Freeman’s down. Arias locked up the playoff roster IT spot?
Since Bo Naylor hails from Canada I got a question for you all. The MLB draft includes Canada which is technically another country but the Dominic Republic or Asian countries are not included. Anyone know why? I think it’s way past time for a international draft.
Asian leagues like Japan and Korea have there own drafts and contracts.