3 ex-Cleveland Guardians who could return and round out the roster
By Chad Porto
Roberto Perez
As of right now, all anyone is talking about is the potential deal for Sean Murphy. The catcher out of Oakland is young enough and could provide some stability for a few years. Yet, his arrival could nerf and hinder the development of Bo Naylor. While Murphy is an automatic upgrade over Austin Hedges, his long-term commitment does interfere with Naylor.
Is Murphy better than Naylor? No way of knowing. There exists the possibility that Naylor is better and there exists the possibility that Naylor doesn’t mature into the player he could be. Which would mean that trading for Murphy is an unknown gamble.
That doesn’t even factor in the cost for Murphy.
A more affordable, and easier option to deal with is former Guardians catcher Roberto Perez. Perez could start for the team, or serve as a backup depending on Naylor’s development. He’s an upgrade over Hedges and a Gold Glove winner.
He was just in Pittsburgh where he hit .233, a significant improvement over his last two years in Cleveland. Should he be a realistic option, he would give the Guards the flexibility needed so that Naylor can develop properly and not be rushed to the Majors.