Guardians Receiving Commerce Curiosity In Younger Catchers

The August third commerce deadline is over a month and a half away, and the Guardians sit simply half a sport again of the upstart White Sox within the AL Central. Though impactful trades are impossible at this stage, groups are nonetheless beginning their due diligence on opposing gamers to organize for deadline season. Some are involved in Cleveland’s younger catchers, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reviews the workforce has fielded calls on Bo Naylor, Cooper Ingle, and Kody Huff.

All three gamers are at present at Triple-A. Naylor is the one one with huge league expertise, having appeared in 346 video games for Cleveland since debuting in 2022. He’s batted .199/.279/.372 with an 82 wRC+ in that point. Ingle is the workforce’s No. 3 prospect and a Top-100 prospect in all of Baseball, based on MLB.com. He’s doing exceedingly effectively at Triple-A this yr, with a 161 wRC+ in 179 plate appearances. Huff has the least pedigree of the three, however he’s additionally hitting effectively. Ingle and Huff usually are not on Cleveland’s 40-man roster.

Rosenthal doesn’t specify the extent of the talks, although they’re greater than doubtless simply early check-ins from opposing golf equipment. The Guardians are in a precarious spot so far as their main league catchers go. Naylor acquired many of the begins within the early going, however he solely put up a 22 wRC+ earlier than being optioned down on Might ninth. Austin Hedges and Patrick Bailey are the present tandem behind the plate. The previous’s 98 wRC+ is effectively above his profession norms, whereas the latter’s .154/.207/.238 output could be unplayable at another place. Each Hedges and Bailey are lauded for his or her protection, however neither is a powerful choice on offense.

General, Guardians catchers are batting .210/.265/.326 with a 65 wRC+. That mark is fifth-worst within the Majors and effectively under the 89 wRC+ put up by catchers across the league. With the AL Central being a weak division, the membership is probably going fascinated by methods to improve the roster and pull forward of the remainder of the group. Given their Backside-5 payroll, inside upgrades may be probably the most environment friendly option to obtain that.

All that’s to say that Cleveland has each a surplus of catching depth in addition to a necessity for extra offense on the huge league degree. Ingle, specifically, has the prospect pedigree and higher minors monitor file to warrant a promotion in some unspecified time in the future. He’d want to ascertain himself towards main league pitching, however Hedges and Bailey’s weak hitting is cause sufficient for Ingle to get a shot.

Naylor and Huff would discover themselves decrease on the depth chart in that situation. Whereas Naylor holds some worth as a younger participant (he’s solely 26) who’s controllable for there years past this one, he merely hasn’t established himself offensively within the Majors. Naylor had a 123 wRC+ in 230 plate appearances in 2023, however he has only a 74 wRC+ in 893 PA from 2024-26. He’s additionally a lesser choice on protection in comparison with Hedges and Bailey, with Naylor declining to 1 Defensive Run Saved in 2025 following an 11 DRS season the yr prior.

All informed, it’s notable that Naylor has been relegated to Triple-A for the final month and alter, with the Guards accepting the dearth of offense from Hedges and Bailey. As for Huff, he’s improved drastically on offense, with a 144 wRC+ at Triple-A this yr in comparison with a 71 wRC+ in 2025. That stated, he’s not thought-about a high prospect and profiles as a depth piece at greatest. Theoretically, that might depart Huff and Naylor as probably the most expendable out of the three catchers talked about by Rosenthal.

Rosenthal clarifies that the Guardians may not be in a rush to deal from their catching depth. The free agent market is projected to be weak, with not one of the catchers being youthful than 30 in 2027. In that context, Cleveland may think about holding on to their depth and checking out the logjam through the offseason when demand will nonetheless be favorable. Hedges is a free agent after this season, whereas Bailey is below management by 2029. Assuming Hedges leaves, that might open a spot for Ingle on the massive league roster, with Naylor and Huff sticking at Triple-A in the event that they don’t find yourself being traded.