The Cleveland Guardians have found themselves in a rough spot all of this season. There have been a few pillars of light though, and one of those pillars is Josh Naylor. The first basemen and DH has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball all season long. He complements Jose Ramirez perfectly as they are a pick-your-poison kind of one-two punch.
Naylor Is On Fire!
Heading into Wednesday night action Naylor is posting .303/.341/.501 with a .842 OPS. Each one of those numbers is a career-high for Josh and it’s among the best of the best in the MLB. His batting average alone puts him in the top 10 in the league. Naylor has already picked up 102 hits, 15 home runs, and 76 RBI this season according to SportsIllustrated.com. That puts him in some elite company of Cleveland Baseball all-time greats.
Josh Naylor has become just the eighth Cleveland hitter since 1954 with a .305+ average, 100+ hits, and 75+ RBI through the team’s first 100 games. Naylor joins Victor Martinez, Travis Hafner, Juan Gonzalez, Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Albert Belle, and Carlos Baerga. Those are names that not only Cleveland Guardians fans will always remember but baseball fans in general. Naylor joining this list is just more proof of how amazing he has been this season.
Naylor has overcome so much in his time with the Cleveland Guardians. From reports saying he could not hit left-handed, and he could not put the ball in play to a gruesome injury just a few years back. All of this coming from a season where he had a very slow start. He hit only .25 in March, .208 in April, and only 15 RBI in those first two months. It was a crime that Josh Naylor was not in the 2023 MLB All-Star game. Now, he is proving to everyone why he should have been there.
Extend Josh Naylor!
Despite how this season ends for the Cleveland Guardians, signing Josh Naylor to a contract extension should be a top priority for the Guards this offseason. If Cleveland could just get one more constantly big bat to place in that line-up behind Ramirez and Naylor things could get scary for the rest of the league.
Will the Cleveland Guardians make any big moves at the trade deadline? Will they be able to add to their pitching and their offense? Only time will tell as the 2023 MLB trade deadline is approaching fast. Cleveland desperately needs to change some things up, but will the front office actually do that?
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Emma Taylor 
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