Bo Naylor’s Guardians career on life support after Patrick Bailey trade

Last fall Bo Naylor showcased the kind of potential that he’s long teased the Guardians with.  

After slugging three home runs and driving in 16 home runs last September during the Guardians’ miraculous comeback to claim the American League Central crown, Naylor added a big three-run home run against the Tigers in the Guardians’ lone postseason win. 

But those feats seemed like a distant memory on Saturday, as the Guardians sent the scuffling Naylor down to Triple-A as the corresponding move for their acquisition of catcher Patrick Bailey from the San Francisco Giants. 

While Naylor’ struggles this season made it necessary (.143 batting average in 28 games), it’s still a stunning fall for grace for a guy who was once considered the Guardians’ catcher of the future. And Naylor’s struggles this season haven’t been contained to this season either, as he’s now hitting just .199 in 346 career games. 

Those struggles are likely part of the reason why the Guardians are planning on sending Naylor to their complex in Arizona for a full reset before he goes to Columbus. 

Bo Naylor may have played in his last career game with the Guardians

“He worked tirelessly to try to flip the script and get more production [offensively], but it didn't happen right away,” president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said in his press conference on Saturday. “I have all the belief in the world that Bo is going to put in the work and he will figure it out, and he'll come back and be a better, more resilient version of himself.”

It’s hard to believe that return is going to happen with the Guardians. While Bailey doesn’t provide much offensively (career OPS+ of 74), he’s won back-to-back Gold Gloves behind the plate and routinely ranks as one of the best defensive catchers in baseball. 

This wasn’t a case of the Guardians replacing Naylor with Cal Raleigh; they essentially replaced Naylor with another version of Austin Hedges. While that would have seemed blasphemous prior to the season, it’s almost preferred now. 

It also all but confirms that prospect Cooper Ingle is part of the Guardians’ long-term future behind the plate alongside Bailey, who has almost the exact same amount of service time as Naylor. 

Instead of signing Hedges to his customary one-year, $4 million deal, the Guardians can let him walk and enjoy three more years of control over Bailey. 

Part of the reason the Guardians may feel more comfortable doing that is because of how well Hedges has swung the bat this season. While he’s not going to hit .300 all season, he’s putting up more competitive at-bats and is posting the best expected statistics of his career, so there’s some substance behind his strong start.

Naylor’s clearly still a talented catcher; it’s just a matter of unlocking it. It seems like there’s a good chance that could happen with a different team.

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