The Cleveland Guardians have one of the worst offensive players in baseball, statistically speaking, playing semi-regularly in Bo Naylor. The catcher woke up on Saturday with a .143 batting average and a .438 OPS. That’s how bad he has been.
The organization decided to seek help, announcing a trade with the San Francisco Giants on Saturday morning. It isn’t a big offensive upgrade over Naylor, but he offers Gold Glove-caliber defense behind the plate.
“The Cleveland Guardians are acquiring two-time Gold Glove-winning catcher Patrick Bailey in a trade with the San Francisco Giants for the No. 29 pick in this year’s draft and left-handed pitching prospect Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson, sources tell ESPN,” MLB insider Jeff Passan posted on X.
BREAKING: The Cleveland Guardians are acquiring two-time Gold Glove-winning catcher Patrick Bailey in a trade with the San Francisco Giants for the No. 29 pick in this year's draft and left-handed pitching prospect Matt "Tugboat" Wilkinson, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 9, 2026
To make room for their newest acquisition, Naylor has been sent to Triple-A Columbus.
The trade is official. Bo Naylor has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus. https://t.co/y0Sqjg8fDH
— Tim Stebbins (@tim_stebbins) May 9, 2026
In the deal, the Guardians are sending left-handed pitching prospect Matt Wilkinson and their Competitive Balance Round A pick (No. 29 overall) in the 2026 MLB Draft. The 23-year-old Wilkinson, known as ‘Tugboat’ by fans and media, boasts a 1.59 ERA in 28.1 innings at Double-A this year.
As for Bailey, he is a premier defender behind the plate, a master framer, and an excellent game-caller. He is an asset as a catcher, and if there’s a team that values the traits he has to offer, it’s the Guardians.
The issue with Bailey is that he isn’t much of an upgrade over Naylor, offensively speaking. Bailey is a career .224 hitter with a 72 wRC+, and is sporting a 16 wRC+ this year.
Perhaps the Guardians saw his acquisition as a market opportunity to add another elite defender like Austin Hedges and to buy some time for catching prospect Cooper Ingle to be ready.
The loss of Wilkinson hurts from a depth standpoint. While their rotation is excellent, there isn’t much behind the backend starters, and ‘Tugboat’ could have been a late-season call-up if he kept up the momentum.
Bailey and Naylor are similar hitters, but the former is a premier defender, unlike the latter. Bailey’s Defensive Runs Above Average (DEF) of 102.4 is the highest in the league since 2020, per FanGraphs. His arrival will boost the overall defense and the pitching staff, too.
NEXT: Parker Messick Can't Stop Raving About His Rookie Teammate
