Guardians fan favorite's comeback as pitcher gains new life after promotion

Tyler Naquin put together a variety of highlights in right field during his five-year tenure with the Cleveland Indians. 

He’s currently on a quest to add some new memories to that list — albeit in a way no one ever expected. 

After signing with the team as a reliever in the offseason, the organization announced on Wednesday that Naquin had earned a promotion to High-A Lake County in a move that gets him a bit closer to making his return to MLB.

Tyler Naquin’s comeback as pitcher gains new life after minor league promotion 

The Guardians signed Naquin, 34, to a minor league contract in March, and he immediately reported to the team’s spring training complex to work on his mechanics. 

He posted a 5.14 ERA in 14 innings in the Arizona Complex League. He recorded eight strikeouts and 11 walks, and had thrown 9 1/3 straight scoreless innings prior to getting promoted. 

Naquin consistently ranked with one of the best throwing arms while playing as an outfielder, and that’s carried over to his time on the mound, as his fastball has touched 95.9 miles per hour.

At this point, the biggest thing to watch will be how Naquin continues to work through his (understandable) struggles with command. There’s a difference between throwing hard and pitching, and it takes some time to navigate those nuances. 

This isn’t Cleveland’s first time taking a chance on a converted reliever, as they had Anthony Gose in their system for four seasons. Gose broke into MLB as an outfielder before shifting to a reliever, and he posted a 4.78 ERA in 32 MLB innings with Cleveland.

He pitched okay in 2022 before needing Tommy John surgery. He’s currently in Triple-A with the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Naquin’s still a long way away from entering the Guardians’ MLB plans, but it’s still a good sign to see him climb the minor league ranks.

Not only will pitching in High-A allow for him to face off against a better class of minor league hitters, but it’ll also allow him to be closer to Cleveland, which could provide a latent benefit to his career.

Naquin’s best season in Cleveland ended up being his rookie year when he posted a .296/.372/.514 slashline en route to a third-place finish in Rookie of the Year voting. He had a strong showing with the Reds in 2021 (.270, 19 HR, 70 RBI), but entered the baseball wilderness afterward.

His last MLB action was in 2023 when he went 0-for-8 in five games with the White Sox.