Tag Archives: Josh Naylor

Guardians tender contracts to seven players

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The Cleveland Guardians have tendered contracts to the seven players who are arbitration eligible but are yet to agree to a deal.

The deadline to tender contracts to arbitration eligible players was Tuesday at 8 P.M. and the Cleveland Guardians decided to tender contracts to all seven of their players who fall into this category. Shane Bieber, Franmil Reyes, and Amed Rosario highlight the group of players who were tendered contracts.

Austin Hedges, Cal Quantrill, Bradley Zimmer, and Josh Naylor are the others who were tendered contracts by the Guardians Tuesday.

With the collective bargaining agreement expiring at 11:59 on Wednesday, the Guardians are yet to do anything of substance. Perhaps Cleveland could make some things happen prior to a lockout that appears to be a certainty beginning Thursday at 12:00 A.M.

Cleveland Baseball Club at the All-Star Break

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Where do things stand with the Cleveland Baseball Club as they trail by eight games in the division?

Looking at the injured list for the Cleveland Baseball Club one would think that this team is without a doubt a below .500 team, but somehow the Fighting Francona’s are 45-42 on the year despite a rash of injuries and underwhelming offense. So, where do things stand with the Cleveland Baseball Club at the All-Star Break?

Injuries

Josh Naylor is out for the season after suffering a gruesome injury not too long ago. That is only the most recent major injury for the team. Cleveland has also dealt with injuries to two other prominent outfielders on the roster, Eddie Rosario and Jordan Luplow. Additionally, the club was without both Roberto Perez and Austin Hedges for a time, forcing them to rely on the combo of Rene Rivera and Ryan Lavarnway. That is before even discussing the injuries to their pitching staff. Shane Bieber has been shelved for quite some time as well as Aaron Civale. Cleveland just saw the return of Zach Plesac after he got hurt in a strange series of events.

The key players who have played a role in the team staying afloat

This conversation obviously starts with Jose Ramirez. Ramirez is having a down year from the slash line perspective up to this point (.260/.346/.524/.870), but the counting stats seems to be right on track. The 2021 All-Star has 19 home runs, 18 doubles, 1 triple, 52 RBI, 8 stolen bases, and 35 walks in 82 games.

Franmil Reyes has been another key factor for Cleveland as he seems to have finally become comfortable since being traded in 2019. The slugger has 14 home runs, 10 doubles, and 2 triples with 38 RBI and 14 walks in 47 games. Reyes did miss some time due to injury so considering that into the mix his production is fairly impressive.

The one player that everyone has been clamoring for, Bobby Bradley. Bradley finally has been given his chance and seems to performing as expected. Bradley has 10 home runs, five doubles, and 20 RBI in 31 games. The one issue that everyone was aware of prior to his call up was strikeouts as Bradley has struck out 36 times in 119 plate appearances. As long as Bradley is hitting the ball over the fence and into the gap the strikeouts are palatable, if not it is a different story altogether.

While Cesar Hernandez has struggled in areas that he is usually proficient in (batting average, on-base percentage), the unexpected power production has been a welcome sight. Hernandez has 15 home runs and 13 doubles with 38 RBI in 85 games. The 15 home runs from Hernandez ties a career-high from 2018, a season which also saw the second baseman focus on power.

Opponents after the break will dictate what the team does

There is a lot that will be learned after the All-Star Break as the Cleveland Baseball Club embarks on a tough schedule. Cleveland will travel to Oakland and Houston before returning home to face Tampa and St. Louis with two games in Chicago against the White Sox taking place before the trade deadline. If Cleveland is going to actually stay in contention they will have play above expectations during this stretch. Closing the gap between themselves and Chicago and Oakland will be crucial if they are going to avoid selling.

Trade candidates

If things do not go their way and Cleveland needs up selling, there are some pretty obvious names the team can move at the deadline. As far as position players are concerned, Eddie Rosario and Cesar Rosario come to mind. Both players are on one-year deals and could be of interest to contending teams looking to add another bat to their lineup. It would also give Cleveland the chance to get a good long look at some of their younger players in their farm system at those positions.

Also worth noting is that there are a couple of relief arms that could be moved as well. When it comes to the trade deadline teams are always looking to add another arm to the bullpen. There are three names that Cleveland could end up moving if things do not go their way. Those arms would be Bryan Shaw, Blake Parker, and Nick WIttgren. While none are elite arms by any means, teams are always looking to add to their bullpen and adding one of these three could make a huge difference for a contender.

Rest of season outlook

This is really tough to predict considering the wide range of outcomes that could occur for Cleveland. The team has mostly overachieved considering the talent level of some of their players and the injuries that have occurred. Somehow they are not completely out of it in the division, but that is mostly due to the White Sox dealing with their own rash of injuries. One bad week could send the team from contention to selling while one good week could keep the team in the playoff hunt. Their best bet is most likely a soft sell of sorts, moving pieces that would provide the biggest return and see how the rest of the season plays out.

Cleveland makes handful of roster moves

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The Cleveland Baseball Club has made a handful of roster moves prior to their doubleheader with the Tampa Bay Rays.

As expected the Cleveland Baseball Club made some roster moves Wednesday.

The team has placed Eddie Rosario on the injured list and transferred Josh Naylor from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Additionally, the team optioned pitcher Logan Allen to Triple-A.

To fill their newly created roster spots on the big league roster the team selected the contract of DJ Johnson while recalling both Daniel Johnson and Owen Miller.

While Cleveland has miraculously been able to stay relevant in the playoff hunt, at some point the injuries are going to catch up to them. That point may be coming soon if it hasn’t already.

Cleveland recalls Mercado, Allen, place Naylor on IL

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The Cleveland Baseball Club has recalled Oscar Mercado and Logan Allen while placing Josh Naylor on the injured list and optioning Kyle Nelson.

A handful of moves were made by the Cleveland Baseball Club Monday afternoon. Josh Naylor was placed on the injured list after his injury in Sunday’s loss to the Twins. The team proceeded to recall Oscar Mercado as they needed an outfielder in addition to also recalling Logan Allen to help out their depleted pitching staff. In addition to those moves the team also optioned Kyle Nelson to Triple-A Columbus.

The plan is to start Logan Allen on Thursday, but Terry Francona that could change if needed.

Cleveland has needed to be flexible and adapt as needed this season. Even with all of the injuries and adversity this team has faced they are miraculously just 2 games behind the division leading White Sox and 2.5 games behind the Oakland Athletics for the second Wild Card spot.

Cleveland drops final game in Minnesota 8-2

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The Cleveland Baseball Club lost two of three games against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.

Nothing went well for the Cleveland Baseball Club in Sunday’s 8-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins. Sam Hentges was hit around pretty hard by the Twins, allowing six runs on six hits with four walks in just 3.1 innings. Minnesota hit two home runs off of Hentges during his short outing. Justin Garza came in after Hentges, allowing one run on one hit, a home run off the bat of Nelson Cruz. Phil Maton also allowed a run in the 7th, a bases loaded walk to Luis Arraez.

The Cleveland offense was simply not able to keep up with Minnesota despite having only one less hit (7-6). A huge factor was the Twins walking eight times while Cleveland only walked three times.

Rene Rivera hit his second home run of the season to get Cleveland on the board in the 3rd inning. Cleveland’s second run came on a RBI single from Eddie Rosario which allowed Jose Ramirez to score.

Cleveland lost more than just the game Sunday as Josh Naylor exited the game with an injury in the 4th. Naylor is expected to miss a considerable amount of time with the injury, putting even more pressure on an already offensive challenged lineup.

Cleveland returns home Monday to being their next series as they take on the Detroit Tigers at 7:10 P.M.

Josh Naylor exits in 4th inning with injury

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The Cleveland Baseball Club outfielder exited in the 4th inning after suffering a serious injury.

Cleveland outfielder Josh Naylor is expected to miss a considerable amount of time after suffering an injury during Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota. The injury occurred after Naylor collided with second baseman Ernie Clement on what should have been a routine out. It was a jam pop fly off the bat of Jorge Polanco that was in between both Naylor and Clement with neither player being aware of the others presence in the area. Both players collided with Naylor’s foot being caught underneath his body upon landing leading to eventually being stretchered off the field. (The video will not be posted here, but it is fairly easy to find if seeing his injury is deemed necessary).

The full extent of the injury is not yet known according to Terry Franocna, but don’t expect to see Josh Naylor anytime soon. Naylor suffered a fracture of some kind in addition to other possible injuries.

UPDATE

Josh Naylor has a closed fracture and dislocated right ankle per Mandy Bell.

Naylor will return to Cleveland later in the week and how everything will be handled from an operation standpoint will be determined at that time.

Cleveland shuts out Cubs 4-0 in Chicago

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The Cleveland Baseball Club continued their road trip through the National League Central, coming out on top against the Cubs 4-0.

After a disastrous weekend in Pittsburgh which saw the Cleveland Baseball Club narrowly avoiding a sweep at the hands of the Pirates, Cleveland traveled to Chicago to take on the Cubs in a short two game series. Cleveland is still climbing their way up the American League Central standings while the Cubs entered Monday as the NL Central leader. If there was any chance of coming away with a victory at Wrigley Field there were going to need some complimentary players to step up, and they did.

Bobby Bradley came up to the plate in the 2nd inning and muscled an opposite field home run off of Adbert Alzolay to take an early 1-0 lead.

Bradley came into Monday going hitless in his last three games with his last hit being. home run against the Orioles last week. Perhaps another power surge is on the way for the young slugger.

Just a few innings later Cleveland saw their lead grow to three as Josh Naylor would clobber a home run of his own with Bradley on first.

Naylor’s bat is heating up as of late, going 8-19 with two doubles and a home run in the past seven days. This could be a great sign for a team that is still waiting on the return of one of their main power threats Franmil Reyes.

In the 8th it was back-to-back wild pitches from Cubs pitcher Tommy Nance which allowed Cesar Hernandez who doubled in the previous at-bat to come around and score, making it a 4-0 lead over the Cubs.

Not everything was good for Cleveland on Monday in Chicago. Aaron Civale started the game but ended up leaving in the 5th inning due to a finger injury. An already decimated pitching staff continues to hemorrhage with no end in sight. Luckily the combination of Bryan Shaw, Nick Wittgren, Emmanuel Clase, and James Karinchak handled the rest of the game, but this can only be sustainable for so long. At some point regular pitching arms need to come back into the fold.

Game 2 against the Cubs will take place at 8:05 P.M. at Wrigley Field

Cleveland avoids sweep in Pittsburgh with 2-1 win

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The Cleveland Baseball Club managed to avoid being swept in Pittsburgh by defeating the Pirates by a score of 2-1 Sunday.

The trip to Pittsburgh was not going well for the Cleveland Baseball Club as they dropped the first two games against one of the worst teams in baseball. Facing the possibility of being swept by the Pirates, Cleveland made sure that did not happen with a slim one-run victory.

The game was scoreless until the 5th inning when Harold Ramirez came up and launched a solo home run to give Cleveland a 1-0 lead.

It was the third home run for Harold Ramirez in two games as the former Marlin appears to be quite comfortable at the plate as of late.

After the Pirates tied the game at 1 in the 6th, it was Josh Naylor who came to the rescue with a RBI single which drove in Eddie Rosario.

Cleveland only managed four hits and two walks in the contest, not necessarily a dynamic offensive output. The team really needs some answers to fix the offense if they plan on competing this season. Luckily Cleveland was able to get an impressive outing from their pitching staff to come away with a win.

Sam Hentges started the game for Cleveland, pitching five shutout innings and only allowing two hits and one walk with four strikeouts. This was by far the best start of the season for Hentges, even though he did not come away with a win.

Sam Hentges started the game for Cleveland, pitching five shutout innings and only allowing two hits and one walk with four strikeouts. This was by far the best start of the season for Hentges, even though he did not come away with a win.

Phil Maton pitched the 6th, giving up the only Pirates run of the game on a Jacob Stallings RBI single. Maton struck out three batters and allowed three hits in his one inning of work.

Trevor Stephan relieved Maton and allowed just one hit and one walk in the contest. This was the last Pittsburgh hit of the game.

The 8th inning belonged to Emmanuel Clase and he kept the Pirates off the base-paths. This was the third hold of the year for Clase.

James Karinchak struck out one batter in the 9th as he came away with his eighth save of the season.

Cleveland continues their road trip on Monday as they take on the Cubs in Chicago at 8:05 P.M.

Cleveland come back falls short in Pittsburgh

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The Cleveland Baseball Club’s comeback effort fell just short as they lost 11-10.

Things did not start off well for the Cleveland Baseball Club in Pittsburgh. Jean Carlos Mejia allowed five runs in the 1st inning, not exactly the start imagined by anyone facing this Pirates team. Even after the poor start, Mejia was able to give the team some length as he went 5 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits along the way. 

Kyle Nelson also allowed five runs in an inning as he failed to get out of the 6th. Nelson’s issue was walks as he allowed three free passes in addition to two hits. It was a walk, a hit by pitch, and a three RBI double which chased Nelson. 

Finding themselves down 11-1 in the 7th, Cleveland staged quite the comeback effort. A bases loaded RBI single from Josh Naylor got things started. Rene Rivera also followed with a bases loaded RBI single which set the stage for Cesar Hernandez. Hernandez clobbered a grand slam to cut the Pirates lead to four. 

Cleveland continued their comeback effort in the 8th as it was Rivera again delivering with the bases loaded. This time a throwing error allowed all runners on base to score making the deficit just one. Unfortunately, that’s all Cleveland could muster as they were unable to drive in any of the two runners on base in the 9th. 

The series continues at PNC Park Saturday at 4:05 P.M. 

Cleveland clobbers Cardinals 10-1

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The Cleveland Baseball Club bounced back with a 10-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

There is one thing that the Cleveland Baseball Club needed after dropping two of three to the Baltimore Orioles and that was a blowout victory. That is just what happened as Cleveland demolished the St. Louis Cardinals on the road 10-1.

Shane Bieber was Cleveland’s starter and was his usual dominant self, allowing just one run on five hits and two walks. The one surprising aspect of his outing is that Bieber only struck out five batters. Luckily the Cleveland offense did more than enough to secure the victory.

Jose Ramirez drove in nearly half of Cleveland’s runs as he went 3-5 with four RBI. Three of his runs driven in came on a three-run homer in the 3rd inning.

Cleveland took advantage of Cardinals pitcher Carlos Martinez who is known for being quite wild. Martinez only lasted 4 innings as he allowed five runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out seven. Accumulating strikeouts has never been an issue for Martinez, it is the fact he can be hit around fairly easily and walks occasionally get the best of him.

Other batters of note

Amed Rosario went 3-5 as hit hot streak continues since moving to shortstop exclusively.

The other Rosario, Eddie Rosario, went 3-5 as well with two RBI.

Josh Naylor was 2-5 in the contest with a run scored.

It was a 2-4 performance at the plate for Austin Hedges as he is 4-13 to start the month of June.

Cleveland will play the second and final game of the contest Wednesday at 8:15 P.M.