Josh Naylor came over to Cleveland in the August 2020 Mike Clevinger trade. This trade might end up being up there with the 2002 Bartolo Colon trade as one of the better in the team’s history, with the team losing Clevinger and Greg Allen but adding Joey Cantillo, Gabriel Arias, Austin Hedges, Owen Miller, and Cal Quantrill.
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I am still not 100% sure that Naylor is part of the team’s long-term plans, but man, I sure hope so. for one, he seems like a nice dude, and that counts. And then there is him coming back from that horrible injury he sustained in 2021, which is a great story. Also, I got this autograph TTM back when he was with the Padres, and any guy who signs TTM is ok with me.
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It also helps that Naylor is having what looks like a career year at the plate, hitting .272/.333/.483 with 7 HR–good for a 133 OPS+. His defense is still not really all that great, but he can still man both first and the outfield, which is useful. Also, its worth remembering that he was the 12th overall pick of the 2015 draft, so clearly there is something there worth being patient for.
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| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 22 | SDP | NL | 94 | 279 | 253 | 29 | 63 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 32 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 64 | .249 | .315 | .403 | .719 | 91 |
| 2020 | 23 | TOT | MLB | 40 | 104 | 97 | 13 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 12 | .247 | .291 | .330 | .621 | 71 |
| 2021 | 24 | CLE | AL | 69 | 250 | 233 | 28 | 59 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 45 | .253 | .301 | .399 | .700 | 90 |
| 2022 | 25 | CLE | AL | 42 | 168 | 151 | 18 | 41 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 28 | .272 | .333 | .483 | .817 | 133 |
| 4 Yr | 4 Yr | 4 Yr | 4 Yr | 245 | 801 | 734 | 88 | 187 | 42 | 1 | 23 | 94 | 4 | 1 | 57 | 149 | .255 | .312 | .409 | .720 | 96 |
| 162 | 162 | 162 | 162 | 162 | 530 | 485 | 58 | 124 | 28 | 1 | 15 | 62 | 3 | 1 | 38 | 99 | .255 | .312 | .409 | .720 | 96 |