Josh Naylor Exits Guardians Game With Apparent Ankle Injury

Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor rolled his ankle running out of the batter's box.

Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (22) runs out a hit to right field during the fifth inning of an MLB game at Progressive Field, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

Everything was finally starting to turn around for Josh Naylor after a few months of a slump for the Cleveland Guardians first baseman. However, everyone is holding their breath as Naylor exited Cleveland's contest against the Pittsburgh Pirates with an apparent ankle injury.

Naylor had just made contact and collected his third hit of the night and planted his foot in the batter's box getting ready to run to first base. However, his left foot awakwardly hit the ground and he clearly rolled it. Naylor got up and hobbled to first base, but he immeditly went to the ground.

Naylor was on the ground for a little over a minute until he was helped to his feet. Stephen Vogt and the Guardians trainer guided Naylor back to the dugout as the first baseman tried to put weight on his foot. It appeared he was getting able to add more weight as he made his way back to the dugout. But at that point, it made sense to take him out of the game.

Tyler Freeman ended up being Josh's pinch runner at first, and Jhonkensy Noel shifted to first base at the top of the ninth inning.

Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (22) runs out a hit to right field during the fifth inning of an MLB game at Progressive Field, Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio. / Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK

Naylor ended his night with two hits in four at-bats and was responsible for driving in three of Cleveland's ten runs.

Hopefully Naylor isn't looking at an extended stint on the injured list. He's arugably the team's best power hitter and they're going to need them down the stretch if they want to win another American League Central crown.