Guardians’ catching depth could end up flipping 2026 trade deadline on its head

Nearly three months ago, the Cleveland Guardians’ front office made a clear statement about Bo Naylor’s future with the club when they added Patrick Bailey to their roster at the expense of Naylor. 

At one point, Naylor was viewed as the Guardians’ catcher of the future. In 2022, it was impossible for the Guardians to announce some kind of roster move without receiving countless replies of Naylor’s headshot. 

And while he had some solid moments during his time with the Guardians, his struggles this year became too much for the team to ignore. 

And instead of trying to ease Naylor into an additional role or limit his playing time, they pulled an external ripcord by trading for Bailey, who has largely provided the Guardians with everything Naylor wasn’t. 

It’s clear that Naylor’s time in Cleveland is done. While there’s always the chance he could get called up if someone were to get hurt, it seems to be just as likely that they’d call up Cooper Ingle instead. 

But just because the ship has sailed on Naylor being a key piece of the Guardians’ roster doesn’t mean that he’s lost all his value. 

On Friday, The Athletic’s Zack Meisel reported that teams have been “checking in on Naylor” since he got demoted, which makes it seem like there’s a legitimate chance the Guardians will be able to find a new home for him at the trade deadline, which would be the perfect outcome for both sides. 

Bo Naylor’s tenure with the Guardians could come to an end at trade deadline 

Naylor has played in 39 games at Triple-A since getting demoted, and has  slashed .236/.355/.443 in 39 games. While his batting average is still lower, he’s been getting on pace at a good clip and hitting for the kind of power that was expected of him when he was initially coming up as a prospect. 

And it seems like that production is going to be more than enough for a catcher-needy team to roll the dice on him. While the Guardians will probably only get a lottery ticket prospect in return for him, it's more than teams are usually able to get for a player who is clearly on the outs. 

According to Mesiel, Ingle is also generating some buzz as a trade candidate, which is also interesting. 

He’s on the exact opposite end of the spectrum as Naylor in that he’s a top-100 prospect with strong minor league numbers, but he didn’t fare well in his first big league cameo and there seems to be some question about his long-term defensive home. 

If the Guardians do trade Ingle, he’d be the perfect piece to help sweeten the pot in a trade for a big leaguer. 

Earlier this year we wrote about how Naylor would have been a good trade target for the Braves as they navigated their catching injuries, but they’re back to being healthy, which eliminates at least one location. 

Luckily for the Guardians, there are still plenty of teams who need catching depth. Naylor may not carry the same name pedigree as some of the prospects the Guardians could dangle in talks, but it’s looking more and more like someone is going to want him. 

While that may be an unceremonious end for a player who was once viewed as a key part of the Guardians’ future, it would be better than losing him for nothing.

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