The Cleveland Guardians will be looking for offense from anyplace they can get it this season. After ranking among the worst teams in MLB last season, and having done little this offseason to address the concern, Cleveland could use a boost from its returning players.
It would be a huge help if catcher Bo Naylor can carry over his production from the final month of last season into this year. Not only would it lengthen the lineup for manager Stephen Vogt, but it could also take some pressure off the prospects as they adjust to their first full season.
Naylor was recently given a notable ranking among MLB starting catchers by Bleacher Report, which placed him at No. 23 out of 30 but mentioned his potential upside.
“Naylor is only 26 years old and going into his fourth season as the primary backstop in Cleveland, with glove-only veteran Austin Hedges behind him. He had an .872 OPS with 10 extra-base hits last September, and that could be the springboard to a breakout 2026 campaign for a player with a better hit tool than his sub-.200 average suggests,” Joel Reuter wrote.
As stated, Naylor failed to hit .200 last season, posting a .195 batting average in his 123 games. With Hedges only hitting .161, the position was a complete void for the Guardians, until Naylor broke out down the stretch.
In 19 games in September and October, he batted .290 with three home runs and an impressive 16 RBIs. Every one of those runs was needed as the Guardians rallied from 11 games behind to overtake the Detroit Tigers and win the AL Central.
If Naylor can produce that way from Opening Day, it could allow young outfielders Chase DeLauter and George Valera to settle into their bigger roles. It also could make up for a lack of offense from middle infielders Gabriel Arias and Brayan Rocchio until top prospect Travis Bazzana is ready for his MLB debut.
In four spring training appearances, Naylor is batting .500 with an exceptional OPS of 1.383, which is helped by three doubles among his five hits. That would indicate that the adjustments to his swing are continuing to pay dividends and he will be able to pick up right where he left off last season.
Anything close to an All-Star-type season from Naylor would go a long way toward helping the Guardians get back to the playoffs.
NEXT: Guardians Get Big Update On Hunter Gaddis
