• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Cleveland Daily

Cleveland Sports News, Rumors & Highlights

  • Home
  • Guardians News
  • Cavs News
  • Browns News
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
  • About

How Josh Naylor’s Injury Affects Guardians’ Trade Deadline Plans

By Spencer Richardson July 31, 2022 @SpencerR_17

Josh Naylor #22 of the Cleveland Guardians flips his bat after hitting a RBI single in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox during game one of a doubleheader at Guaranteed Rate Field on July 23, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois.

 

If only a 6-4 loss to the Rays on Saturday was the only Guardians‘ loss.

Of course, it’s never that easy.

Prior to Saturday’s game, first baseman Josh Naylor was scratched from the game.

Perhaps that’s not so out of the ordinary; Naylor has struggled through back soreness and pain throughout the season.

But on Saturday, Naylor was scratched for another reason: ankle pain.

And while it might seem as though back pain takes priority over ankle soreness in a vacuum, the reverse is true for Naylor.

That’s because Naylor suffered a season-ending injury last year to his ankle.

 

Injury History

Naylor injured the ankle last June.

In a classic case of two players going for the same fly ball, Naylor collided with Ernie Clement.

And Naylor’s ankle got caught underneath his frame, leading to a gruesome scene on the field.

Naylor was then carted off the field and got immediate medical attention to the ankle.

And it wasn’t long before the medical staff ruled Naylor out for the rest of the season after surgery for a fracture and ankle dislocation.

He spent the rest of the summer and winter rehabbing that ankle to come back this season.

And he’s been one of Cleveland’s bright spots this season.

JOSH NAYLOR DOES IT AGAIN FOR THE GUARDIAC KIDS! #FORTHELAND pic.twitter.com/IcslvbK1K5

— Bally Sports Cleveland (@BallySportsCLE) July 28, 2022

He’s batting a career-best .282, with an .846 OPS.

He’s also third in the American League for win probability added (3.0), a stat that measures a player’s individual ability to change the odds their team wins a game.

A few other names on that list?

Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, Rafael Devers, and coincidentally, his teammate Andrés Giménez.

So losing Naylor for any extended time could change the Guardians’ entire season forecast.

 

Buy? Sell? Both?

Any future plans at first base depend on the amount of time Naylor is set to miss.

Any extended absence might vault the Guardians into the buyers market for first basemen.

In that case, the Nationals’ Josh Bell and Orioles’ Trey Mancini come to mind as immediate replacements.

Both would be short-term rentals, but if the Guardians are positive they want to compete this season, any loss of production at first base would hamper those goals.

As good as backup Ernie Clement is (he isn’t), the current internal options are slim.

9th inning Josh Naylor is officially the greatest baseball player ever and you can’t change my mind

— Joey Korzunowski (@jkorz34) July 28, 2022

Mancini is batting .272 on the season with 41 RBIs; Bell, on the other hand, is mashing to the tune of a .305 average with an .887 OPS.

While only rentals, both would be immediate big-time bats that could temporarily solve any Naylor absence.

But things could just as easily swing the other way.

Let’s say the price for Mancini and Bell is too high.

Do the Guardians decide to roll the dice with what they have?

It’s possible, with the aforementioned Clement likely taking over responsibilities at first.

But it would make competing infinitely more difficult for the Guardians.

The club already struggles with run support for pitchers, with José Ramirez and Andrés Giménez pulling in a combined 32% of the team’s RBIs.

Maybe Nolan Jones gets a look at first, as well.

The only problem is, after Naylor’s excellent season, he’s the likely future option at first.

So any internal replacement would surely be temporary, as would targeting a trade piece.

    Get ALL the latest Cleveland sports news straight to your inbox! Subscribe to the Cleveland daily newsletter here!    

Recent News

Franmil Reyes #32 of the Cleveland Guardians singles off Lucas Giolito of the Chicago White Sox in the seventh inning at Progressive Field on July 13, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. The White Sox defeated the Guardians 2-1.
What’s Next After Franmil Reyes DFA?
Shane Bieber #57 of the Cleveland Guardians pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning at Progressive Field on August 03, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Could Shane Bieber Be On The Move This Winter?
Outfielders Alex Call #65 Myles Straw #7 and Nolan Jones #33 of the Cleveland Guardians run in after the Guardians defeated the Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field on July 16, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Guardians defeated the Tigers 10-0.
Solving The Guardians’ Logjam At Right Field

Filed Under: Cleveland Guardians Rumors And News (Updated Daily) Tagged With: cleveland guardians

Reader Interactions

Follow Cleveland Daily!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search Cleveland Daily

Follow Cleveland Daily!

Footer

Privacy Policy

Terms And Conditions

Contact Us

Copyright © 2022 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - ClevelandDaily.com is not affiliated with the Cleveland Indians or Major League Baseball.