Cleveland Guardians fans react to top catching prospect Bo Naylor being sent back to minors: "I honestly hate this" "He wasn’t ready"

The Cleveland Guardians sent top catching prospect Bo Naylor to the minors on Friday, optioning the 23-year-old to Class AAA Columbus. Naylor, who is competing for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic, is the No. 4-ranked prospect in the Guardians' farm system.

Naylor, drafted in the first round of the 2018 MLB June Entry Draft, was one of five catchers battling for the backup spot behind journeyman Mike Zunino on this year's Guardians roster.

The move was unexpected, as he only has 66 games of experience at the AAA level. He whet Guardians fans' appetites with a brief appearance in the majors last season, going hitless in eight at-bats over five games at the end of last season.

Seen optimistically as Cleveland's catcher of the future, the Guardians never put forth any intentions publicly that Naylor would be part of the major-league squad this season.

The move to the minors guarantees that the youngster will continue to receive regular playing time and continue to work with a number of the Guardians' best pitching prospects.

He went just 1-for-6 in his very brief stay with the Cleveland Guardians at Spring Training before departing to compete for Canada at the WBC. The Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper reported that Guardians manager Terry Francona spoke with Naylor before the departure to likely inform him that he would be reporting to the minor-league camp upon his return from Canadian playing duty.

May fans agreed with the decision, but look forward to the day when the player seizes the starting catching role in Cleveland.

Several fans really did hope that Naylor would remain with the Guardians this season, even in a backup role behind Zunino. With Cleveland expected to contend for at least a divisional title in 2023, they argue that the experience of being around a top major-league club would be invaluable while also maintaining that the pick of other backup options is not that appealing.

Mike Zunino is the Cleveland Guardians catcher for now

Mike Zunino, himself once a top catching prospect while with the Seattle Mariners, signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Cleveland Guardians this past offseason. While the team likely hopes the 31-year-old is little more than a bridge to Naylor's eventual future takeover of the position, Zunino is a capable MLB catcher.

In a 10-year career with the Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays, he is hitting .200 with 146 home runs and 361 RBI. Not sparkling offensive numbers, but he handles the pitching staff well and is known as a good defender.

About the author

Born in Minneapolis, Minn., Tom has covered sports since 2004. Tom grew up a fan of the Chicago Cubs because his dad didn't like the hometown Twins playing indoors. He goes to Wrigley Field several times a year. His favorite sports moment was being at Wrigley when the Cubs won the 2016 National League Pennant.

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