One of the keys to the Cleveland Guardians’ plan to improve their offense from within this season was to get more production from the catcher position. It was expected to come primarily from Bo Naylor, who had a breakthrough at the plate in September that not only helped the Guardians win the AL Central last year, but it also created great optimism for what he could provide going forward.
It looked like the plan would work to perfection as Naylor had an outstanding spring training. But once the regular season began, everything fell apart for the 26-year-old left-handed hitter.
Naylor went 1-for-15 in his first four games and his batting average never got back over .160. Things got so bad that the Guardians had no choice but to send him down to the minors, which they did on May 9 after acquiring catcher Patrick Bailey in a trade with the San Francisco Giants.
Insider Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com recently revealed what went wrong with Naylor this season, and he cited his lack of consistent playing time.
“Naylor’s problem with the bat was consistency. He had a great September last year, carried it into spring training and the World Baseball Classic, but couldn’t keep it going into the regular season. I don’t think the Guardians’ three-catcher system helped him. He was the starting catcher but never got consistent playing time like a starting catcher,” Hoynes wrote.
In 2025, Naylor formed a successful tandem with veteran defensive specialist Austin Hedges, who still has confidence in his former teammate. This season, David Fry was able to return to the catching mix as he was able to play the field again after being limited to DH duties last season while he recovered from elbow surgery.
Naylor still received the bulk of the work, making 23 starts, even though he was struggling at the plate. Meanwhile, Hedges was having the best offensive season by far, as the lifetime sub-.200 hitter pushed his batting average above .300. Fry has played in eight games at catcher, and Bailey, another defensive standout, has appeared in three since his arrival.
Last September, Naylor batted .290 with three home runs and 16 RBIs. It was still only enough to get his batting average for the season up to .195.
Naylor was demoted to Triple-A Columbus, but before playing there, he was sent to the Guardians’ complex in Arizona to work on his game in a less-pressurized environment, which hopefully will get him back on track.
NEXT: Guardians Are Making Pitching Change For This Weekend's Games
