Guardians’ Josh Naylor Looks To Build On Historic 2023 Season

Cleveland's starting first baseman became the fourth player in franchise history to finish a season with a .305+ batting average and at least 95 RBI in 125-or-fewer games played.

In 2020, the Cleveland Guardians made a substantial trade when they sent starting pitcher Mike Clevinger to the San Diego Padres. One of the assets they acquired from San Diego was an outfielder named Josh Naylor.

Naylor has now become one of the premier first basemen in baseball.

This year, he had a season at the plate that has been matched just three previous times in Cleveland history.

Naylor finished 2023 with a .308 batting average and 97 RBI (both career-bests) in 121 games played. With this stat line, he became the fourth player in franchise history to finish a season with a .305+ batting average and 95+ RBI in 125-or-fewer games played.

Sep 15, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (22) hits an RBI single during the fourth inning against the Texas Rangers at Progressive Field / © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

Here are the other three Cleveland players to achieve this same feat in a season:

1. Hal Trosky (1939): .335 batting average and 104 RBI in 122 games played.

2. Albert Belle (1994): .357 batting average and 101 RBI in 106 games played.

3. Manny Ramírez (2000): .351 batting average and 122 RBI in 118 games played.

Naylor also became the first Cleveland hitter to hit at least .305 with at least 95 RBI in a season since Michael Brantley (.327 batting average, 97 RBI) did so in 2014.

Naylor built on his productive 2022 campaign, during which he hit .256 with 20 home runs, 79 RBI, and 28 doubles in 122 games played. While his home runs slightly dipped to 17 this year, he also had career-highs of 31 doubles and 10 stolen bases.

At the moment, the 26-year-old Naylor is arbitration-eligible this offseason. Based on his past two campaigns, he has certainly made a case to become Cleveland’s long-term first baseman.