Josh Naylor is back with the Cleveland Guardians and he’s shaking things up.
The Cleveland Guardians are getting one of their most important building blocks back tonight as the Guards take on the San Francisco Giants. Starting at first will be Josh Naylor, who brutally hurt his leg, snapping it in two, just 10 months ago. Seeing Naylor return after a short stint in Triple-A will be a treat to see.
Unlike last year, however, where he played the outfield, he’ll be starting tonight at first base. This will see Owen Miller, who’s currently serving as the starter at the position, will move over to the second base. Amed Rosario will return to shortstop to make up the middle infield with Miller, with Oscar Mercado and Steven Kwan starting at the corners.
The change should help the team defensively, as Miller is a much better fielder than he can show at first and Rosario no longer has to worry about playing the alleys while in the outfield.
How will this affect the lineup going forward, however?
Right now the four biggest liabilities the Guardians have are Franmil Reyes, Austin Hedges, Bobby Bradley, and Yu Chang. Reyes is the team’s defacto DH, simply due to the fact he can probably hit 50 home runs in a season if he plays 150 games.
He’ll strike out 300 times more than likely to get 50, but he can hit 50 home runs and the analytic boys love that. Hedges is a starter by default, with Bryan Lavastida not being nearly ready enough and Bo Naylor being even less ready than Lavastida.
Chang has been sent to the DL already, for an undisclosed injury. That may have been done more so to save someone an option to the minor leagues but that’s just speculation. That leaves Bradley, who has seemingly lost all playing time since Miller’s hot start.
If the Guardians can cut down on the number of at-bats those guys get this year, this offense may just be in a great position to play well. There’s always a chance that they turn around and get better, but Reyes, Bradley, and Hedges are 26, 26, and 29 years old respectively. They aren’t kids anymore.
If they were going to make major changes to their game, one would think that would already have happened by now. All three are strikeout machines, and keeping their at-bats limited is the best course of action.
That’s only possible, though, if guys like Miller and Josh Naylor are able to stay healthy and stay productive. Otherwise, you’re going to have to see what those names can do.