Should the Cleveland Guardians look to re-acquire Josh Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks?
If the MLB season ended today, the Cleveland Guardians would secure a playoff spot as one of the three Wild Card teams.
Despite their position, the Guardians still have a glaring weakness — their lineup. While they traded one of their top hitters in the offseason to acquire Slade Cecconi, who has shown promise as a starting pitcher, the team remains in need of another strong offensive presence.
Former MLB general manager Jim Bowden recently appeared on 92.3 The Fan and suggested the Guardians consider a trade to bring back Josh Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks for the rest of the season.
“You really miss Josh Naylor, and I wouldn’t be against bringing him back,” Bowden said. “If Arizona struggles through July, I’d seriously consider making a deal to get him back for the stretch run.”
It would be highly unorthodox for the Guardians’ front office to trade away a player, only to try and bring him back just a few months later.
That said, Cleveland has done something similar before — they re-acquired Nolan Jones from the Colorado Rockies. However, that move came after a gap of two and a half years, not merely a couple of months of major league action.
There’s no doubt that Josh Naylor would provide an immediate boost to the Guardians’ lineup. Still, his return would complicate things within the team’s current designated hitter and first base rotation.
If a trade were made and both Carlos Santana and Kyle Manzardo remained on the roster, one of them would be forced to sit most days to make room for Naylor’s bat.
And that doesn’t even factor in David Fry’s playing time, or what becomes of CJ Kayfus, whose primary position is first base and who’s shown he deserves a shot at the majors.
While Naylor’s return could certainly strengthen the offense, the roster complications make such a move difficult to realistically pull off.
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