Tough times are the ones that test an organization’s patience with a specific player in MLB. And the Cleveland Guardians are currently living that situation with catcher Bo Naylor.
Many of the struggling players the Guardians had earlier in the season have, at the very least, shown signs of life by now. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about Naylor, whose stat line seems to get worse with each passing day.
“Cleveland Guardians (C) Bo Naylor over his first 18 games of the season. 7-54, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 13 SO. AVG. 130, OBP. 203, SLG. 204, OPS. 407,” Guardians Prospective posted on X.
Cleveland #Guardians (C) Bo Naylor over his first 18 games of the season.
7-54 1R 1(2B) 1HR 3RBI 5BB 13SO
AVG .130
OBP .203
SLG .204
OPS .407— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) April 22, 2026
Only four hitters with at least 50 plate appearances have a lower wRC+ than Naylor’s 17: Ke’Bryan Hayes (-16), Harrison Bader (-9), Nick Castellanos (9), and Jordan Beck (16). He has been historically bad, and we are close to completing one month of play. The sample is not insignificant anymore.
The most worrisome development is that the Guardians are blindly trusting a player who hasn’t been an above-average offensive performer since 2023. Naylor had an 85 wRC+ last year and a 74 mark in 2024, after finishing at 123 in a brief-but-still-significant 67-game cameo in 2023.
Naylor’s on-base woes have been so severe that he has scored just a single run in the entire 2026 campaign, and it occurred after he hit a home run. He drove in himself that one time, and that’s it.
Naylor’s potential remains enticing, and the Guardians know it. That’s probably why he has gotten every chance to turn around his fate. However, their patience can’t be infinite. There has to be a line drawn somewhere, and Naylor is getting dangerously close to it.
Even the defensive-minded Austin Hedges is doing much more than Naylor to deserve playing time. The same can be said about catching prospect Cooper Ingle, who is tearing up Triple-A and knocking on the major league door, but recently got injured.
Naylor has gotten 1,100 plate appearances in the major leagues and has a middling 84 wRC+. If the Guardians want to dramatically improve their chances, they need to call up Ingle as soon as he is healthy and make him share the position with Hedges.
Naylor has minor league options, and at this point, sending him down has to be a possibility the Guardians are considering.
NEXT: Guardians' Catching Prospect Is Dealing With An Injury
