Cleveland Sports Forum

if they could develop outfielders like they develop pitchers they'd be the Rays of the North

It was a day for the Rookies:

Williams 7 one hit innings
Brennan 2 run 9th inning double
Bo 2 caught stealing including one with a balletic move
and also a note on Clase

By Terry Pluto, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Scribbles in my Guardians notebook:

1. There were “Wow” moments in the Guardians 2-1 victory over Kansas City Tuesday night. At least, that word came from my mouth several times, nearly every inning when Gavin Williams was pitching. It was his second big league start, and he held the Royals to one hit in seven innings.

2. Williams owned the strike zone. He threw low 95 mph lasers at the knees, often on the outside corner. Then there were high 97 mph fastballs at the shoulders, hitters helplessly waving at them going by. His breaking ball had zip and dip – fouling it off was an achievement.

3. Lots of young pitchers throw hard. Not many throw 70 of 92 pitches for strikes, as Williams did. Very few throw first-pitch strikes to 18 of 23 batters, as Williams did. He was Cleveland’s first-round pick in the 2021 draft. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound right-hander looks like a big league pitcher.

4. Williams had a 9-6 record with a 2.10 ERA in 175 career minor league innings before being promoted to Cleveland. He’ll be 24 on July 26. The Guardians have lot of young starters with excellent arms, but no one has more pure ability than this product of East Carolina.

5. Cleveland now has three rookies in its rotation – Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Williams. Heading into Wednesday night, they have combined for a 7-4 record and a 3.64 ERA this season. Bibee was a fifth-round pick in the same 2021 draft as Willams.

. Did you see that Bo Naylor throw to wipe out a stealing KC base runner? It was a near-wild pitch by Trevor Stephan, speared by Naylor. The rookie ended up making up a 360-degree turn and firing a lightning bolt to second base.

7. Bo Naylor is 23. He’s off to a rough start at the plate: 3 of 24 with 10 strikeouts. Give him time. His defense is a significant upgrade from Mike Zunino. Naylor has thrown out 3 of 10 stealing base runners and is doing a pretty good job blocking balls. He caught Williams, Bibee and Allen in the minors, so he already has a connection with them.

8. Looks like Emmanuel Clase is back to his All-Star form. Heading into Wednesday night, he’s 7 for 7 in save conversions in June. This month, he’s thrown 11 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only three hits. He blew five saves in April and May, and now has bounced back strong. That’s the sign of maturity from the 25-year-old closer. Don’t take him for granted.
HE'S HOT

9. Will Brennan is batting .347 in June. Overall, the outfielder is hitting .276 (.709 OPS) with 4 HR and 23 RBI. Brennan batted .314 (.850 OPS) between Class AA and AAA in 2022, driving in 107 runs in 129 games. He then hit .357 (15 for 42) when called up to Cleveland.

10. The lefty-hitting Brennan is batting .297 vs. righties, but only .184 vs. lefties. It’s why I’ve been pushing for the promotion of Oscar Gonzalez for a a few weeks. Gabriel Arias is a righty hitter, but only 5 of 54 vs. lefties. The platoon with Arias and Brennan in right field is not working. At Columbus, Gonzalez is batting .306 (.897 OPS) in June. For his Class AAA season, the outfielder is batting .368 vs. lefties. He’d be a natural platoon partner with Brennan. If Gonzalez gets hot, Brennan and/or Kwan can fill in at times in center field to give Myles Straw a break. Gonzalez is a better fit for this roster than Arias. Tyler Freeman has shown he can handle the utility infield job.

I believe we all agree with that?

rusty2 wrote: Wed Jun 28, 2023 1:59 pm 10. The lefty-hitting Brennan is batting .297 vs. righties, but only .184 vs. lefties. It’s why I’ve been pushing for the promotion of Oscar Gonzalez for a a few weeks. Gabriel Arias is a righty hitter, but only 5 of 54 vs. lefties. The platoon with Arias and Brennan in right field is not working. At Columbus, Gonzalez is batting .306 (.897 OPS) in June. For his Class AAA season, the outfielder is batting .368 vs. lefties. He’d be a natural platoon partner with Brennan. If Gonzalez gets hot, Brennan and/or Kwan can fill in at times in center field to give Myles Straw a break. Gonzalez is a better fit for this roster than Arias. Tyler Freeman has shown he can handle the utility infield job.

To play devil's advocate - I am sure Arias is still around because he can field any position in the infield and do it quite well.

I have no problem with Freeman, Arias or Fry going down in exchange for Oscar. Currently who is the backup outfielder ? Arias ?

Freeman doesn't play short, but Giminez can. Freeman has shown he can hit in the majors, Arias has not. So I keep Freeman over Arias.
We don't need a 3rd catcher and Fry is limited to the corners, he's hit some but we certainly could get by without him. Arias or Fry, flip a coin

Freeman started 262 games at shortstop in the minors.

He started out as a SS. Most all infielders who reach the majors do. But I see he has nine major league starts at SS. So your point is well taken,

I would be more comfortable putting him in the lineup at 2nd and sliding Giminez over, but maybe they like keeping Andres at second exclusively [unless or until they move Rosario]

I feel like Freeman or Fry would be sent down. FO or coaching staff is high on Arias or is trying to build his trade value. Good SS, strong arm and is capable of very long home runs when he connects.

My 2 cents on it - I think Arias is most likely to go down for the simple reason that he needs to really rack up some steady at bats being considered having the most prospect worth.

Freeman, with his hitting approach, can play less often and still get bat to ball. I do think they like Fry as the 3rd catcher and utility guy.

Perhaps the fact that they even tried Fry in RF shows that they are seeing if he is viable there - pointing to Arias going down.

I am guessing that the FO does not want Rocchio and Arias splitting time at SS. Freeman slides into 2nd base better.

Arias should have already been in AAA learning the OF. FO has high regard for Arias and I am guessing part of that is other teams asking about him in trades.

Cleveland Guardians’ first half: 10 numbers that tell the story
By Zack Meisel
5h ago



CHICAGO — Cal Quantrill, from the corner of a silent visitor’s clubhouse at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon, offered a straightforward assessment of the Guardians’ first half.

“I think we’re good enough to win this division,” he said. “We’ve had some tough losses along the way and we’ve definitely had stretches where we can play better, but I think we’re a good enough team to win this division and give ourselves a chance in the playoffs. We just have to put a streak together. What I did today didn’t help that.”

Quantrill surrendered six runs in a series-opening loss to the Cubs Friday, which brought the Guardians to the midpoint of the season. Their 39-42 record, thanks to the sad state of the American League Central, still has them dreaming of October. Here are 10 numbers that tell the story of their rocky first half.
12: Home runs by Guardians outfielders

That ranks last in the majors. In fact, it’s fewer than barely half the total of the team (Boston, 23) that ranks next-to-last. Twenty-eight outfielders have hit at least 12 home runs on their own.

Here’s the breakdown: Will Brennan, five; Gabriel Arias, four; Steven Kwan, two; and Oscar Gonzalez, one.

They’re on pace for 24 home runs as a group. In the last 40 years, excluding strike-shortened seasons and the pandemic-shortened 2020 season — in which Cleveland also ranked last with 11 home runs — only three teams’ outfielders have totaled 24 home runs or fewer as a unit over the course of a full season.

2023 Guardians outfielders: .243/.311/.339 slash line, 82 wRC+, on pace for 22 home runs
2007 Royals outfielders: .271/.341/.374 slash line, 88 wRC+, 22 home runs
1989 Astros outfielders: .243/.317/.330 slash line, 92 wRC+, 18 home runs
1992 White Sox outfielders: .263/.336/.355 slash line, 97 wRC+, 18 home runs

Meanwhile, two outfielders the club traded over the offseason, Nolan Jones and Will Benson, have, respectively, registered slugging percentages of .529 and .467 in 224 plate appearances.

Myles Straw has not hit a home run since Aug. 26, 2021, a span of 675 days, or just shy of 1 million minutes.

No Cleveland outfielder has eclipsed the 25-homer mark since Grady Sizemore in 2008.

In all, the Guardians rank last in the majors with 54 homers, 10 behind the 29th-ranked Nationals. The Braves lead the league with 147.
1: Pitchers on pace to make 25 starts

The Guardians have used 11 starters. The average for a team this season is nine. Last year, they used 12.

Shane Bieber, however, is the only starter on pace to eclipse 25 starts. And, well, who knows if he’ll reach that total in a Guardians uniform. The club has cycled rookies and injured veterans through the other four spots in the rotation, and that trend could continue.

Triston McKenzie received further analysis from a pair of medical specialists this week, and the team is evaluating those results before determining his path forward. For a pitcher dealing with an elbow injury, that’s never anything but ominous.

Aaron Civale and Quantrill have returned to the rotation, just in time for Logan Allen to get a breather in Triple A. Tanner Bibee and/or Gavin Williams could receive a similar respite at some point as the team manages the workload of the three rookie starters. There isn’t a hard cap on any of the three, but Bibee and Allen totaled 132 2/3 innings in the minors last year and Williams totaled 115.
50: Games decided by two runs or fewer

No team has played more close games. In the wild-card era (since 1995), no team has played more games decided by one or two runs in the first half. They have played 35 one-run games, tied for the most by a team at the midpoint in that timeframe. The Marlins led the league last year with 64 one-run games.

That explains why Emmanuel Clase leads the league in appearances, saves and blown saves and is on pace for a Bryan Shaw-like 80 outings.

Last season, the Guardians went 28-17 in one-run games. This year, they’re 16-19 in such contests.
2nd: Cleveland’s rank in bullpen ERA

Admit it, you wouldn’t have guessed that. The Guardians rank behind only the Yankees in bullpen ERA, and there’s a massive gap between second-ranked Cleveland (3.06) and third-ranked San Diego (3.45).

They rank second in ERA. But they’re tied for first in blown saves.

The conclusion to draw: When they allow runs, they do so in closely contested games — the only type of games they seem to play — so the impact is more profound.
9.3 percent: José Ramírez’s strikeout rate
José Ramírez collides with Salvador Perez of the Royals while stealing home in the 10th inning on Thursday. (William Purnell / USA Today)

Ramírez is one of three qualified hitters in the league with a strikeout rate better than 10 percent. He’s one of 42 players with 13 or more home runs. Of those 42 players, the next-best strikeout rates belong to Ronald Acuña Jr. (12.8 percent) and Ozzie Albies (15.3 percent). The only qualified hitter in baseball with a better walk-to-strikeout ratio is Luis Arraez.

Ramírez also ranks in the 97th percentile in Statcast’s Outs Above Average defensive metric and, as is usually the case and as he reminded viewers when he stole home in the 10th inning on Thursday, he remains one of the league’s better baserunners. He could be playing himself into MVP finalist consideration (the non-Shohei Ohtani division) yet again.
25: Stolen bases since the end of April

They had 35 in the first month alone, which ranked second in the sport. They’ve since slipped to 14th.

Terry Francona recalled Friday morning how he urged Mike Napoli to set an aggressive tone on the bases during spring training in 2016. That messaging worked, as Cleveland ranked fourth in the league in stolen bases, second in stolen base success rate and second in extra-base-taken percentage en route to a World Series berth. A similar tactic paid dividends last year when Ramírez and Amed Rosario steered the Guardians to a slash-and-dash style that resulted in 92 wins and an ALDS trip.

They maintained that aggressive approach in the early going of this season, but have strayed from it in recent weeks. They ranked 23rd in the league with 14 stolen bases in June, but they were also caught nine times.
go-deeper

GO DEEPER

Fast but not as furious: The Guardians' mad dashes on the bases have disappeared
97th percentile: Josh Naylor’s expected batting average

Expected numbers are not an end-all, be-all, but Naylor’s metrics serve as a reminder that he’s been punishing the baseball. His .302 expected batting average — a reflection of the quality of his contact — ranks in the 97th percentile in the league. His .497 expected slugging percentage ranks in the 87th percentile. And, well, it’s no surprise that over the past month, Naylor has produced a .398/.422/.602 slash line, with more extra-base hits (16) than strikeouts (14).
go-deeper

GO DEEPER

Guardians slugger Josh Naylor's process — and patience — pays off
6-11: The team’s record when Bieber starts

That’s not his fault, of course. The Guardians are averaging 3.47 runs per game when he takes the mound. They have scored more than five runs twice in Bieber’s 17 starts. They have scored three runs or fewer in 11 of the 17.

Bieber is a different pitcher than he was, say, prior to last season. He’s surrendering more hard contact than ever before and his strikeout rate has plunged. He does boast a 3.48 ERA, though, and he ranks second in the majors in innings pitched. Cleveland’s ace has also recorded three of his four highest strikeout totals of the season in his past four outings.
go-deeper

GO DEEPER

Why the Guardians could trade Shane Bieber, and why the situation is complicated
.523: The combined OPS by Cleveland’s catchers

Remember learning in history class about how the purchase of Alaska was dubbed “Seward’s Folly” after U.S. Secretary of State William Seward brokered a $7.2 million deal to acquire the territory in 1867? Well, then what do you call the Guardians’ $6 million commitment to Mike Zunino? They might have been better off investing in BitCoin or Pogs or Princess Diana Beanie Babies.

Nothing against the veteran, who by all accounts desperately tried to reverse his fortunes. Zunino simply didn’t have it. There was always risk involved in signing a 32-year-old catcher who was returning from thoracic outlet surgery and had been prone to streakiness at the plate throughout his career. His addition still ranks behind Brett Myers in terms of the worst one-year debacles of the Francona Era. Myers made four appearances and did not have a lot of allies in his brief tenure with the team in 2013.

Bo Naylor should help boost the group’s production at the plate. At the very least, his addition to the roster will hush the pleas to promote Bo Naylor from Triple A. Cleveland did make a run at catcher Sean Murphy over the winter before the Athletics dealt him to the Braves. Murphy will start at catcher for the National League in the All-Star Game.

That .523 OPS, by the way, ranks last in the league, as does the unit’s 36.5 percent strikeout rate.
7: Players who have made their major-league debut

Last season, 17 players made their debut, a number that was mentioned ad nauseam. But how many of the 17 can you name? The list included brief stints from Alex Call, Tanner Tully, Bryan Lavastida and Kirk McCarty, among others. This year, the newcomers account for a sizable chunk of the starting rotation, in Bibee, Williams and, prior to being optioned to Triple A this week, Allen.

Who else could debut in the second half? Joey Cantillo, who has totaled seven outings for Columbus, could factor into the pitching equation at some point. George Valera, provided he avoids any more trips to the injured list, could hit himself into outfield consideration.

Guardians are one of MLB’s most interesting teams in month leading up to trade deadline Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Thursday, June 29, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
By Zack Meisel
8h ago

51
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CHICAGO — The most compelling team in the league has a losing record. The most compelling team rarely hits the ball over the fence. The most compelling team employs only a handful of players familiar to a casual fan outside the limits of the nation’s 19th-largest TV market.

The Guardians, though — the team that can’t stop stubbing its toe, the team that even in victory drags its fan base along a draining journey to the 27th out, the team gifted residence in the league’s sorriest division — can make a case for being baseball’s most fascinating team to monitor over the next month.

Daily intrigue? Check. All they do is play close games; 61.4 percent of their contests have been decided by one or two runs. They handed closer Emmanuel Clase, just named to his second All-Star team, a 6-2 ninth-inning advantage at Wrigley Field on Sunday night, and then needed a 10th frame to secure the series win. If the recent rash of poor air quality doesn’t take a toll on the lungs of Cleveland’s denizens, the Guardians turning them into stressed-out chain-smokers might do the trick.

Stakes? Check. They have a postseason berth teed up for them, with only one other (similarly flawed) club, the Twins, offering meaningful competition in the American League Central. Six AL teams will punch their tickets to October, and while banking on random playoff variance isn’t a sound strategy, the Guardians’ clear-cut path to the postseason arms them with opportunities not afforded to teams in the East and West.

Potential trade deadline movers and shakers? Check. Their staff ace fits the mold of pitchers they have dealt in recent years. They have a stockpile of middle-infield prospects they’ve clung to for several years, waiting for the ideal trade to materialize.

The first two qualities on the checklist fuel the third. There are endless possibilities for Cleveland on the trade front, but to determine its next move, and the ones after that, it needs to solve the riddle of what the 2023 Guardians are — and what they can become.

Which lens do the Guardians trust? The view that depicts them as a contender, even if geography is the prevailing reason for it? The one that suggests they’re a middling team, a reflection of their 41-42 record? Or the one that entices the organization’s decision-makers to believe that the team has weathered the worst, a litany of gut-wrenching losses, and has brighter days ahead as the summer unfolds?

There’s probably some overlap with those perspectives, but the stance the front office takes will dictate the club’s approach at the trade deadline, and what the Guardians ultimately decide could have ripple effects across the league.

They’ll surely listen to offers for Shane Bieber and their other non-rookie, healthy starting pitchers. President of baseball operations Chris Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff keep their phones charged around the clock. They deem any conversation worth having, and Bieber figures to garner at least lukewarm interest from a host of contenders. The flip side to dealing a starter, of course, is the notion that, well, the Guardians could find themselves in a playoff series when Bieber or Aaron Civale — who dropped his ERA to 2.96 with six masterful innings Sunday — could prove useful. And Triston McKenzie’s season is in jeopardy as he deals with an elbow injury.
Tanner Bibee tied his season high with nine strikeouts against the Cubs on Saturday. (David Banks / USA Today)

Not to mention, the Guardians will closely monitor the workloads of rookie starters Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Gavin Williams. They sent Allen to Triple-A Columbus late last week for a pseudo-breather. Manager Terry Francona told Bibee on Saturday night that he was pulling him one out short of Bibee’s favorite target, the six-inning mark, because he was bound to pitch on normal rest this week.

As they often do, the Guardians this year appear set to blur the lines between buyer and seller. They could trade Bieber and then, in that deal or a separate one, bolster their big-league outfield. Contenders will call about their pitchers. Rebuilding clubs will call them about their prospects. And no position player available on the trade market should be off-limits, either. The Guardians could be involved in as many discussions over the next month as any team.

Their bid to balance contention with development has caused some complications along the way. Last summer, without the foresight that they’d cruise to a division crown, they opted not to swing a deadline deal. There are more known quantities on the roster this year, but still so much to learn about those rookie starters, about catcher Bo Naylor and outfielder Will Brennan and the glut of middle infielders.

So, which stretch is more indicative of the Guardians’ true ability, their painful march through April and May, or their improvement over the past month? They’re 9-4 in their past 13 games, and 16-10 in the past 30 days. Which is it? Their bullpen boasts the second-best ERA in the majors (with a gulf between them and the third-ranked Braves), but it also ranks second in the league in blown saves. Which stat is more indicative of the group’s true identity?

The Guardians have made nothing easy to this point, and that won’t change with the trade-deadline decision process. One team source stressed the Guardians are “right in this,” but acknowledged “this” is made possible by a convenient division composition. Is the AL Central a blessing, granting them a chance to dismiss a rocky first couple of months, or a red herring, designed to trick the club’s brass into thinking the team is more of a threat than it really is? Several members of the organization insisted they believe the team hasn’t yet played its best baseball, with recent results serving as evidence.

In the end, the most compelling team doesn’t have to mean the greatest team. It can mean a team interesting enough — with a more productive offense, a sound pitching staff, plenty of late-inning drama, a weak division and ample trade-deadline opportunities — to be worth following closely for at least the next month.

Guardians musings: Emmanuel Clase’s rocky (All-Star) first half, Shane Bieber’s kryptonite CLEVELAND, OHIO - JUNE 24: Emmanuel Clase #48 of the Cleveland Guardians looks on during the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Progressive Field on June 24, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)
By Zack Meisel
3h ago



CLEVELAND — The only thing preventing Emmanuel Clase from having three consecutive blown saves on his record is that he entered the game Sunday night at Wrigley Field with the Guardians ahead by four runs. Clase’s string of 13 straight scoreless outings is a distant memory, even though it ended less than a week ago. In his last three trips to the mound, he has surrendered seven runs (six earned) — and relinquished three leads.

Last season, he thrived on being efficient. His ninth innings usually lasted the length of a sneeze.

In 2022, he faced three or more hitters in 73 appearances. In those 73 appearances…

He needed 15 or more pitches in 20 of them.
He needed 20 or more pitches in five of them.

In 2023, he has faced three or more hitters in all of his league-leading 42 appearances. In those 42 appearances…

He needed 15 or more pitches in 20 of them.
He needed 20 or more pitches in eight of them.

Nothing has come easy for the guy with the one-of-a-kind cutter and elite slider. Cleveland’s coaches and analysts identified some mechanical tweaks for Clase to make in early May. He shortened his arm action, optimized his release point and the timing component of his delivery and, for a month, the changes sparked encouraging results.

The intent was to get Clase to create more swing-and-miss, so he wouldn’t have to worry about his bat-splintering cutter inducing weak grounders that find holes in a shift-restricted defense. Clase went a span of 25 hitters without recording a strikeout in April, which seems like it should be impossible for a guy with his arsenal.

Clase’s struggles peaked in late May in Queens, when he fumbled a 10th-inning save opportunity against the Mets. It was a reminder that, while efficiency is welcome, command is paramount. Clase allowed back-to-back singles on 0-2 counts that spearheaded New York’s comeback victory.

Clase had Francisco Álvarez down 0-2, but he left a slider over the plate. He had three balls to waste; there was no reason not to attempt to entice the Mets catcher to swing at something off the plate.

Clase had Brandon Nimmo down 0-2, but he left a cutter in the middle of the zone, a similar lack of execution. Nimmo was late on the pitch but still chopped it toward the hole at shortstop. The way the Guardians’ defense was aligned, they had no chance to retire Nimmo and the inning continued — for one pitch, which Francisco Lindor lined to right-center for a walk-off single.

On Tuesday night against the Braves, he had Ozzie Albies down 0-2. Catcher David Fry set up his glove above the zone — the Guardians have been stressing Clase attack that area more — but Clase left a cutter over the middle of the plate. Albies whacked it into the right-field seats to erase the Guardians’ one-run lead.

Opponents have posted a .720 OPS against Clase in 0-2 counts this season, which rates 168 percent better than league average in such situations.

Myles Straw said that, as an outfielder, “You always want that play.” That play, an inning-ending, run-preventing outfield assist in the 10th inning, fueled the Guardians to a 6-5 victory against the Braves on Tuesday.

What’s the checklist for a catcher when awaiting the throw, positioning his body and applying the tag? I asked David Fry, who actually started the game in right field before shifting behind the plate in the late innings, for his perspective:

“With the new rule, you try to keep your left foot around home plate so you’re not in the way, because the last thing you want to do is have a guy thrown out and it gets overturned because of a violation. So you’re watching the throw come in, you’re trying to let it get to you and not be too eager to go out and get it. Straw made the throw on the money and made it easy for me.”

I asked Straw for the keys to executing such a critical throw:

“Right when I threw it, I knew it was going to have a chance. I know Sam Hilliard’s a really good runner. I honestly tried to make that one all the way — no hop. That’s your best bet at that point. All or nothing, really. The run scores or it doesn’t. It’s not like there’s another baserunner that can advance to second or anything. It was do or die. You make the out or you don’t. That’s the ultimate play right there. Go for it.”

Through four innings on Tuesday night — and nearly two complete trips through Atlanta’s lineup — Shane Bieber yielded one harmless hit and no runs. In the fifth inning, an inning he didn’t survive, Bieber allowed four runs on five hits.

To the numbers…

Opponents vs. Bieber, first time in a game: .230/.292/.304 slash line
Opponents vs. Bieber, second time in a game: .204/.267/.327 slash line
Opponents vs. Bieber, third time in a game: .310/.344/.578 slash line

He didn’t have such issues last season…

Opponents vs. Bieber, third time in a game in 2022: .246/.272/.391 slash line

I asked Guardians manager Terry Francona if anything has stood out about the latter stages of Bieber’s outings this year. He acknowledged the dip in effectiveness, as seen in the statistics, but suggested it’s not one, specific thing plaguing him on a regular basis. As he says often, Bieber repeated after the game he’s “been working on some things” and said there were “some silver linings” from his outing. His five walks were a career-high.

On Monday afternoon, Bo Naylor exited Cleveland’s clubhouse, notepad in his hand, and walked across the hall to a meeting room. He listened in as coaches explained the ins and outs of the Braves’ daunting lineup to the Guardians’ relievers.

On Tuesday afternoon, Naylor joined a couple teammates on the field for an early round of batting practice. Hitting assistant Jason Esposito fed baseballs to a pitching machine and Naylor, ahead of a night off, took his hacks.

The 23-year-old is the busiest body in the Guardians’ clubhouse, yanked into every meeting and included in every conversation. Such is life for a catcher, especially a rookie transitioning to the role of primary big-league catcher.

“There’s a lot thrown on this kid’s plate,” said first-base coach and catcher whisperer Sandy Alomar Jr., “offensively, defensively, mechanically, and especially game-calling.”

Cleveland outfielder Will Brennan, on marveling at Shohei Ohtani’s nightly feats: “All of us pitched and played every position at one point in time. So to do it at the highest level, we understand the toll it takes on your body more than the general public. But we’re still in awe like the general public is. The fact he can go up there and throw 97 mph and come the next day and DH and put up the numbers he has, it’s unheard of.”