The main area where the Cleveland Guardians needed to improve in 2026 was at the plate. In many ways, last year’s team featured the worst offense in baseball, and it’s imperative that other bats outside of Jose Ramirez take their games up a level.
Prized outfield prospect Chase DeLauter is off to a blistering start to his rookie campaign and Ramirez is starting to kick things into gear, but other than Angel Martinez’s nice start, nobody else has gotten hot out of the gate. Cleveland faced a gauntlet of incredible starting pitchers over the first few series, but it is now nearing mid-April and some of the numbers are still looking rather ghastly for some staples of the lineup.
Nobody is looking worse than catcher Bo Naylor, who was slotted into the No. 5 spot in the lineup to begin the season and has gotten off to an abysmal start. During a recent episode of The Daily Guards, Cade Cracas put Naylor on the hot seat and wondered how long his leash is going to be if he doesn’t pick it up at the plate.
“Both Kody Huff and Cooper Ingle have started the year off really well. Their batting averages are up above .300. They’re drawing walks as well. They’re making a good case to, at some point, get a call-up either this year or next year, and with Bo Naylor having an up-and-down start to the year, do you think there’s a chance for those guys to fight for time at the big-league level,” said Cracas.
How long of a leash should Bo Naylor get this season? #GuardsBall
Naylor is 4-36 with 0 RBIs and a .347 OPS. @CracasCade pic.twitter.com/OmLhm4vxkV
— The Daily Guards (@DailyGuards) April 11, 2026
Ingle is one of Cleveland’s top five prospects on MLB.com’s rankings and at 24 years old, he is showing signs that he could be ready. He has posted an OPS well over .800 at every level of the minors and is off to a blistering start this year with a 1,309 OPS through nine games for Triple-A Columbus. He has also had more walks than strikeouts every year since getting drafted, and it’s only fair to wonder how long Cleveland tolerates Naylor’s lack of offensive production when it has this level of production down in Columbus.
At 26 and in his fifth year in the league, Naylor should be getting better, but he is getting worse. A .347 OPS with no RBIs through ten games is far from the start he was hoping for, and if he can’t get things together quickly, his days could be numbered.
Manager Stephen Vogt is typically very loyal to his guys, and Naylor is going to have a chance to figure this out, but it is getting harder and harder to justify his lack of production.
NEXT: Guardians Get Encouraging Update On Hunter Gaddis
