Bo Naylor Relishes Chance To Suit Up With Brother

Bo Naylor impressed the Indians leading up to the 2018 draft, when they used their first-round pick on the high school catcher from St. Joan of Arc Catholic High in Mississauga, Ont.

Naylor further impressed team officials at the alternate training site last year, and in spring training this year the 21-year-old opened still more eyes.

As a non-roster invitee to major league camp, he went 4-for-10 with a home run.

At Low-A Lake County in 2019, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Naylor hit .243/.313/.421 with 11 home runs in 107 games.

But Naylor’s biggest thrill may have been an early-morning text he got from his mother on Aug. 31 last year.

“Her text said, ‘Your brother just got traded,’ ” Naylor said. “I immediately thought, ‘Oh my God,’ and I said, ‘To who?’ And there was that suspenseful pause between texts and she said, ‘Cleveland.’ My jaw dropped.”

Naylor’s brother Josh was traded by the Padres to the Indians as part of a nine-player trade that sent Mike Clevinger to San Diego. The two brothers are separated by two years—Josh 23— and both were drafted in the first round.

“All through my life I’ve looked up to him as a role model,” Bo said. “Seeing what he’s gone through on and off the field. When I found out about the trade I thought, ‘This is really happening?’ It makes you take a step back and appreciate what our lives have come to.”

Now, both brothers admit they are looking forward to possibly playing together in the same major league lineup one day.

“To play with your brother, it’s so rare in the game,” Josh said. “When that day happens, I can’t wait for it.”

“You kind of dream of it, growing up,” Bo said.

 

 

 

SMOKE SIGNALS

— Slugger Bobby Bradley had a big spring, but the Indians went with Jake Bauers at first base, mostly because Bauers was out of minor league options. Bradley hit .303 with two homers, 11 RBIs and a .951 OPS in the spring.

— Shortstop Tyler Freeman, who has hit everywhere he’s gone since the Indians selected him No. 71 overall in 2017, made the most of his invitation to major league camp. He hit .423 in 26 at-bats with a double, a home run and four RBIs.