The Cleveland Guardians had high hopes for Bo Naylor this season.
That’s why it was so concerning to watch him regress at the plate and struggle with his defense at catcher as well.
Fortunately, it seems like he has finally turned the corner.
Asked about that, manager Stephen Vogt gushed about Naylor making necessary changes.
“Bo has made a number of adjustments (with his swing) over the year,” Vogt said. “He’s gotten himself to a place where it feels like this is Bo. That knock in the ninth gave us a little more cushion and took the air out of the place.”
Of course, no one expects all catchers to be Salvador Perez or Cal Raleigh, but teams need as much help as they can get from the position on offense.
That’s especially true for a Guardians team that doesn’t have a lot of sluggers.
This seemed to be Naylor’s perfect opportunity to establish himself as the everyday starting catcher.
He boasts more offensive potential than Austin Hedges, who’s always been known as a defensive specialist.
A failure by Naylor would’ve forced the organization to have some uncomfortable conversations about his future.
The Guardians are playing their best baseball of the season right now.
Hopefully, Naylor will continue to adjust to remain a factor on offense.
There will be little margin for error from now until the end of the campaign, and they need everybody to be locked in and at their best.
Naylor is a talented player, and it will be crucial to keep building up his confidence.
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