David Fry Adds New Layer To Guardians' Catching Situation

David Fry hit his first career home run as the Cleveland Guardians beat the San Diego Padres.

Mike Zunino, Cam Gallagher, Bo Naylor, and ... David Fry?

The Cleveland Guardians have a difficult decision to make as to who's going to be calling the pitches and catching behind the plate. But that's only half of the equation. Whoever is squatting behind home plate also needs to add something on offense too.

Mike Zunino and Cam Gallagher have caught the majority of innings behind the plate this season, but we know the story with that. Zunino has struggled to produce on offense while also leaving much to be desired on defense. Gallagher's defense has been solid, but his bat has not been great.

The Guardians need to find some sort of solution with the unknown and unclear timeline of Bo Naylor.

Enter David Fry.

Cleveland called up Fry on May 1 to be the team's third catcher/utility man. He's played multiple infield positions and even some outfield in the minors along with having a solid bat. However, Fry hasn't been given consistent playing time.

Thursday night's series finale with the San Diego Padres was the first time Fry caught a full nine Big League innings and he didn't disappoint.

His first at-bat of the night ended with his first Major League home run. This three-run slam wrapped up a huge five-run first inning for the Guardians. Later in the game, Fry smacked a double and came around to score on an Andres Gimenez base hit.

We're going to get yelled at, but this is David Fry's first career home run in the Bigs.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/VWjC1MyYQg

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) June 16, 2023

We can't ignore his defense either. Fry threw out Juan Soto trying to steal third base in the bottom of the sixth. Soto was originally called safe on the field, but Cleveland had the call overturned when they challenged it. 

Fry also didn't allow a passed ball in this start either.

After the game, Terry Francona said, 

"I thought (Fry) deserved the chance to play a game, and I thought tonight made sense. Boy, he sure helped us. I mean, he made some good throws, he caught a really long arduous game, and he helped us offensively. Good for him, and it really helped us."

So what does this performance mean for the future of the Guardians?

Bo Naylor is the future backstop for Cleveland. The team has alluded to it and that's most likely one of the reasons that he isn't with the Big League club yet. However, we don't know when the Bo era will start.

Zunino and Gallagher haven't quite panned out as everyday catchers for the Guardians which creates a void until the team calls up Bo full-time. Fry's performance definitely should put him into consideration to get more time behind the plate and help bridge the gap to Naylor. 

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