When Will Guardians Fans See Bo Naylor?

The Cleveland Guardians continue to have catching issues while Bo Naylor proves he's ready in Triple-A.

It's the question on everyone's mind. Will it be today, or tomorrow, during the road trip? When will Cleveland Guardians fans see Bo Naylor with the Big League club?

Cleveland's Assistant General Manager, James Harris, was asked about Naylor's development and timeline before their game against the Houston Astros on Sunday. 

This is what he said:

What you’ve seen and what he’s done offensively has been nothing short of impressive against advanced pitching; against lefties, he’s starting to control the top of the zone, which was something that we were hoping that he would work on this year. Those are things that he has made improvement on, and it’s been impressive. 

Naylor is currently hitting .257 with an OPS of .897 including 12 home runs and 46 RBI through the 57 games he's played in this season. Yes, that is impressive.

Well, that didn't take long.@CleGuardians No. 4 prospect Bo Naylor homers on the first pitch he sees tonight for the @CLBClippers: pic.twitter.com/FwKUMVTTTq

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 9, 2023

However, according to Harris, it's not just about the offense: 

“The next step for him is being able to lead the clubhouse at a major-league level, lead the pitcher-catcher meetings. Being a (starting catcher) at the major-league level is not just catching the ball, it’s not just trying to throw guys out at second base. It’s all of that. It’s leading a pitching staff, it’s calling pitches. It’s leading advance work with our analysts.

Of course, Harris isn't going to come out and say, "On this date, we are calling up Bo Naylor to be our number one catcher." But, he certainly seems to imply that Bo still has some more development to do in the Minors before his big call-up.

But the offensive production from Cleveland's catcher thus far cannot be ignored forever. 

Mike Zunino, who was brought in to add some power to the lineup, has just three home runs this season along with a strikeout rate of 43.8 percent. Cam Gallagher has been better on defense but still has just 10 hits this season.

Back to Bo. When will he be called up? Only those in the front office have that information, and they aren't going to be sharing it with the masses. 

One theory presented by the Athletic's Zack Meisel is that Naylor's promotion will coincide with the date of the Super Two Rule. That date fluctuates each year, so it's hard to pinpoint exactly when Bo could be called up if this is the case. 

The best answer we can give is sometime this season ... probably. Hopefully sooner than later. 

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