Will brothers from Mississauga stay on the same Major League Baseball team?
Published January 24, 2024 at 12:08 pm
Two of the Naylor brothers from Mississauga have made headlines and Major League Baseball history the last couple of years as members of the Cleveland Guardians.
But will the pair — slugging first baseman Josh, 26, and power-hitting catcher Bo, who’ll be 24 in February — remain teammates for the long term?
While there’s nothing to suggest they won’t, the question has been raised recently in Cleveland, where the media has keyed in on Josh Naylor’s contract status.
He remains under team control until after the 2025 season when he can test the free agency waters. Asked by Cleveland media at a recent Guardians fan event if he’s thinking about signing a long-term extension with the club when the time comes, the Mississauga native was noncommittal.
Naylor, an important cog in the Guardians’ lineup, told the gathered media that he’s going to leave any talk of a contract extension to the team. He did add, though, that Cleveland is “an incredible place to play” and that he loves his teammates and coaches.
Oh yes, he mentioned his younger brother as well, calling it “awesome” to be able to play on the same MLB club alongside Bo.
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Bo Naylor, meanwhile, told media south of the border earlier that the experience of playing in the majors with his big brother in the same dugout is one he’ll always cherish.
Time will tell if the siblings, both products of St. Joan of Arc Secondary School in Mississauga, enjoy long MLB careers as teammates.
For now, they’re honing in on the upcoming MLB season, which begins the end of March. Within the next few weeks, the Naylors will be in Arizona for spring training baseball with the Guardians in preparation for the 2024 season.
The third Naylor brother, meanwhile, will also be in Arizona to get ready for the baseball season.
Myles Naylor, a third baseman selected by the Oakland A’s with the 39th overall pick in last summer’s MLB First-year Player Draft, isn’t expected to crack the big league roster just yet, though.
It’s hard to imagine Josh Naylor not being extended in Cleveland. Not only is he a big bat in the lineup, but he was also the recipient last fall of the Bob Feller Man of the Year award as chosen by Cleveland’s chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
Named for the Cleveland franchise’s all-time leader in pitching wins, the award is presented to the player or executive who consistently performs at the top of their game, both on and off the field.
On the field last year, Josh finished among the American League leaders in several offensive categories.
The 5-foot-11, 250-pound slugger finished an injury-shortened 2023 regular season with 17 home runs and 97 RBIs (tied for eighth in the AL) in 452 at-bats, while hitting .308.
If he had enough at-bats to qualify, Naylor would’ve placed third in AL hitting with his batting average.
Despite his own successful season, Josh may very well choose a moment that wasn’t his own as his most cherished memory of the 2023 season — brother Bo’s first big-league home run.
In his first campaign last season, Bo Naylor earned 198 at-bats with the Guardians, slugging 11 homers to go with 32 RBIs and a .237 batting average.
Considered a top catching prospect, Bo is expected to improve on those numbers in 2024.
Both he and Josh are former first-round draft picks in the MLB First-year Player Draft.
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