The August 3rd trade deadline is over a month and a half away, and the Guardians sit just half a game back of the upstart White Sox in the AL Central. Although impactful trades are very unlikely at this stage, teams are nonetheless starting their due diligence on opposing players to prepare for deadline season. Some are interested in Cleveland’s young catchers, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports the team has fielded calls on Bo Naylor, Cooper Ingle, and Kody Huff.
All three players are currently at Triple-A. Naylor is the only one with big league experience, having appeared in 346 games for Cleveland since debuting in 2022. He’s batted .199/.279/.372 with an 82 wRC+ in that time. Ingle is the team’s No. 3 prospect and a Top-100 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB.com. He’s doing exceedingly well at Triple-A this year, with a 161 wRC+ in 179 plate appearances. Huff has the least pedigree of the three, but he’s also hitting well. Ingle and Huff are not on Cleveland’s 40-man roster.
Rosenthal doesn’t specify the extent of the talks, though they’re more than likely just early check-ins from opposing clubs. The Guardians are in a precarious spot as far as their major league catchers go. Naylor got most of the starts in the early going, but he only put up a 22 wRC+ before being optioned down on May 9th. Austin Hedges and Patrick Bailey are the current tandem behind the plate. The former’s 98 wRC+ is well above his career norms, while the latter’s .154/.207/.238 output would be unplayable at any other position. Both Hedges and Bailey are lauded for their defense, but neither is a strong option on offense.
Overall, Guardians catchers are batting .210/.265/.326 with a 65 wRC+. That mark is fifth-worst in the Majors and well below the 89 wRC+ put up by catchers around the league. With the AL Central being a weak division, the club is likely thinking about ways to upgrade the roster and pull ahead of the rest of the group. Given their Bottom-5 payroll, internal upgrades might be the most efficient way to achieve that.
All that’s to say that Cleveland has both a surplus of catching depth as well as a need for more offense at the big league level. Ingle, in particular, has the prospect pedigree and upper minors track record to warrant a promotion at some point. He’d need to establish himself against major league pitching, but Hedges and Bailey’s weak hitting is reason enough for Ingle to get a shot.
Naylor and Huff would find themselves lower on the depth chart in that scenario. While Naylor holds some value as a young player (he’s only 26) who’s controllable for there years beyond this one, he simply hasn’t established himself offensively in the Majors. Naylor had a 123 wRC+ in 230 plate appearances in 2023, but he has just a 74 wRC+ in 893 PA from 2024-26. He’s also a lesser option on defense compared to Hedges and Bailey, with Naylor declining to 1 Defensive Run Saved in 2025 following an 11 DRS season the year prior.
All told, it’s notable that Naylor has been relegated to Triple-A for the last month and change, with the Guards accepting the lack of offense from Hedges and Bailey. As for Huff, he’s improved greatly on offense, with a 144 wRC+ at Triple-A this year compared to a 71 wRC+ in 2025. That said, he is not considered a top prospect and profiles as a depth piece at best. Theoretically, that could leave Huff and Naylor as the most expendable out of the three catchers mentioned by Rosenthal.
Rosenthal clarifies that the Guardians might not be in a rush to deal from their catching depth. The free agent market is projected to be weak, with none of the catchers being younger than 30 in 2027. In that context, Cleveland might consider holding on to their depth and sorting out the logjam during the offseason when demand will still be favorable. Hedges is a free agent after this season, while Bailey is under control through 2029. Assuming Hedges leaves, that could open a spot for Ingle on the big league roster, with Naylor and Huff sticking at Triple-A if they don’t end up being traded.
AA on blast.
So glad Baldwin is back Tuesday
They should just trade Bailey
They should’ve never acquired him.
Cleveland has cornered the market in underperforming hitting catchers, now they are overstocked and need to sell
meanwhile they keep some good hitting catchers playing down on the farm.
Interest from who, the Rays and their never ending search for a catcher?
If they don’t want to trade from their depth trading Stephen Vogt is always an option although considering how good he’s been as manager I’d suggest not trading him.
St Louis is the team with all the young promising catchers . I’m betting they are getting a lot of calls
is this interest in the room with us now?
I really don’t understand why they brought in Bailey other than they see him as a long term Hedges replacement. I get having a defensive first catcher, preferably as a backup, but two is redundant. What will he cost in arbitration? Is he actually more useful than offering the same 3m to Hedges until he retires to become a coach?
Phillies need a MLB-ready catcher with minor league options. Having both Stubbs and Marchan on the 26 man roster is unnecessary, especially since neither can hit at all. They don’t really have to worry about another team claiming either one off of waivers if they get DFA’d, especially Stubbs, whose making nearly $1M. Stubbs likely would accept another demotion so he doesn’t forfeit his salary; so he’d still be available if there were multiple injuries with the catching crew.
It’d be better if Stubbs and the optional catcher were in AAA, Marchan as JTR’s backup, and Stubbs’ MLB roster spot went to a utility player or a power threat off of the bench. Stubbs being used as the utility guy isn’t making it. Idk why the Phils have handcuffed themselves to two backup catchers that can’t hit and don’t have options. Need some flexibility in case of injuries, and the Phillies don’t have that at the catcher position.
This.
On most teams,the catcher position is not great.Defense helps win Ball games.I am going to try to think of any catchers batting .270 or above.30 home run power and good defensively.Can’t think of any.
Ben Rice (not sure about defense), Drake Baldwin, Shea Langeliers to name a few
Can ingle and Huff contribute long term as non-catchers? Both have multiple positions in baseball reference. If they can hit MLB pitching, could Ingle contribute at RF and Huff at first?
Red Sox should call and offer Sonny Gray plus his full remaining salary, Wong, and a prospect or two for Ingle.