Bo Naylor Is Milwaukee-Bound as Brewers, Guardians Exchange Depth Pieces

If this commerce deadline seems to be a dud, you’re going to see lots of people blaming the 12-team playoff format, which has flattened the aggressive panorama across the edges of the playoff subject. As of Saturday morning, 11 of the 15 American League groups have no less than a 25% likelihood of creating the playoffs. Within the Nationwide League, there’s a bit extra stratification, however 9 of 15 groups have no less than a 19% likelihood of creating the playoffs. The few groups which can be nicely and really out of the race are so positioned for a purpose — i.e. they don’t have many good gamers to promote within the first place.

You might use that as an excuse to take a seat out the deadline, or you might do what the Brewers and Guardians did: discover one other contender to commerce with. The Nice Lakes area’s two nice perennial low cost contenders connected on a four-player commerce that despatched catcher Bo Naylor and reliever Codi Heuer to Milwaukee in change for outfielder Blake Perkins and reliever Craig Yoho.

Credit score to baseball ops bigwigs Chris Antonetti and Matt Arnold for locating a commerce accomplice on this treacherous market, however this sort of swap does have its drawbacks. Specifically: Not one of the 4 large leaguers on the transfer on this deal has been any good in 2026.

Heuer has thrown 9 2/3 innings this 12 months, permitting 5 earned runs together with 12 hits and 5 walks. In some way, that’s ok to place him 0.1 wins above substitute degree. Naylor, Perkins, and Yoho are all underwater when it comes to WAR.

The relievers on this deal are each low arm-slot right-handers. Heuer you may bear in mind as a rookie phenom for the playoff-bound White Sox in 2020. In 2021, he acquired traded throughout the town with Nick Madrigal for Craig Kimbrel. Heuer tore his UCL within the spring of 2022, and threw solely 12 2/3 innings over the three seasons that adopted. He made it again to the majors final 12 months, however he’s now on his fourth group in 13 months, with solely 11 large league appearances to indicate for it.

Heuer’s been round so lengthy he was Dallas Keuchel’s teammate in a season the place Keuchel was a top-five Cy Younger vote-getter. Regardless of that, he solely simply turned 30 final month and continues to be optionable. The Brewers would wish to work some magic to show Heuer again right into a useable playoff arm; as he’s, he’s a Quad-A depth piece.

Yoho is like Heuer, besides he’s 4 years youthful, has a greater changeup, and throws a sinker as a substitute of a slider. That changeup is one thing particular: Opponents are hitting simply .103 off it this season, and it tunnels nicely along with his two fastballs. All three pitches have above-average arm-side motion, due to Yoho’s sidearm launch angle, and the changeup strikes like somebody opened a trapdoor beneath it.

The outcomes haven’t fairly matched Yoho’s potential; in 23 main league appearances, totaling 28 2/3 innings, he has struck out 25 batters whereas strolling 17 and hitting three others. However, the Guardians’ pitching workers is heavy on low-three-quarters righties; Colin Holderman and Franco Aleman are as shut as Cleveland will get to a righty with that arm angle. If nothing else, it’s a brand new look. Yoho is extra probably than Heuer to make an impression down the stretch; if not, he’s younger, low-cost, and optionable in 2027. A reliever with these qualities doesn’t need to be particularly good to seek out main league work.

The 2 place gamers are probably the most fascinating a part of this commerce.

Over a lot of the previous decade, the Brewers have put collectively nice pitching staffs on a budget. They’ve put the ball in play and so they defend nicely, however their offense goes darkish each October as a result of if Christian Yelich and William Contreras don’t come by, they’ve to attend by seven outs for these two to come back up once more.

Perkins performed fairly a bit throughout that point; from 2023 to 2025, he appeared in 242 common season video games and batted 773 instances. Over the course of these three seasons, he hit .232/.314/.339, with a ten.3% stroll fee however a strikeout fee (26.0%) that merely isn’t acceptable for an outfielder who hits for thus little energy.

Perkins can swap hit, which is to say he has a profession wRC+ of 95 towards lefties and a profession wRC+ of 72 towards righties. He’s quick, and he can play middle subject if want be. He’s not participant, however whenever you’re working a bottom-half payroll, “not good” just isn’t the worst factor a participant will be.

Thankfully for the Brewers, if not for Perkins, they’ve developed a full set of younger outfielders with some juice: Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Luis Lara, and the currently-injured Sal Frelick. Rapidly, they don’t need to accept “not good” anymore, which made Perkins expendable. Particularly as a result of he’ll be arbitration-eligible after this season, and subsequently a probable non-tender candidate.

The Guardians, nevertheless, haven’t been so profitable of their outfielder-growing pursuits:

Candy Jesus, that’s bleak. Perkins is just hitting .157/.250/.258 this season, but when Angel Martínez and his .257 OBP had been my third-best outfielder heading into the playoffs, I’d be prepared to strive absolutely anything.

And on the floor, the Guardians gave up so much to strive absolutely anything. Naylor is by far probably the most well-known particular person on this deal, due to his exploits alongside older brother Josh each in Cleveland and for the Canadian nationwide crew. However simply 19 months after buying and selling Josh away, the Guardians are actually out of the Naylor enterprise altogether.

A fast peek on the stats makes it straightforward to see why. The youthful Naylor was large as a rookie in 2023; he posted a 123 wRC+ and a couple of.1 WAR in simply 67 video games. Since then, although, it’s been tough.

Because the begin of the 2024 season, Naylor has hit .192/.266/.351 (for a wRC+ of 74), with a 27.1% strikeout fee. To be clear: The Guardians don’t thoughts a catcher who carries a pool noodle to the plate as a substitute of a bat. Within the 2020s, Guardians catchers are hitting .193/.269/.326, for a worst-in-the-league 68 wRC+.

However in case you’re going to strap on the instruments of ignorance and go 0-for-4 each night time, the Guardians do count on elite protection. The crew is perhaps useless final in offensive worth from catchers this decade, however it’s seventh in defensive worth.

Naylor has graded out as advantageous over his profession (he had one nice framing season and a pair common ones), however he’s no Patrick Bailey or Austin Hedges, and so he’s now surplus to necessities. And like Perkins, Naylor is ready to hit arbitration this coming winter.

The Brewers, in case you had been curious, have gotten 28.9 WAR from their catchers within the 2020s, which is the highest mark in baseball. They’re first in wOBA and fourth in defensive worth, and their incumbent starter, Contreras, is a 28-year-old three-time All-Star. When Contreras is both off or beginning at DH, the Brewers have Gary Sánchez, who’s hitting .214/.368/.422 in 193 plate appearances. That’s a heck of a backup.

So what do the Brewers need with Naylor? Right here, I’ve an apparent short-term reply and a long-term concept.

Proper now, the Brewers are beginning a right-handed bat-first catcher, with a right-handed bat-first backup. Naylor is a left-handed hitter, and whereas he’s not nearly as good a defender as Hedges or Bailey, he’s mainly Johnny Bench in comparison with Sánchez. It’s a cleaner match for a partnership with Contreras. From there, the Brewers may offload Sánchez to any of the quite a few contenders who may use a catcher with a clue on the plate. Or they may carry all three catchers after rosters increase.

In the long run, it’s value noting that Contreras is making $9.4 million this 12 months with a $14.5 million membership possibility for 2027. Exercising that membership possibility would be the best choice Arnold makes in his whole profession, however after that Contreras is a free agent, and certain in line for the sort of contract Milwaukee doesn’t like handy out.

Naylor has been fairly hapless on the plate the previous three seasons, however he nonetheless has above-average bat velocity and a fairly good really feel for the strike zone. And as a lot as I’ll proceed to rag on the Brewers’ offense till it reveals up within the playoffs, Milwaukee has had some success turning post-hype ex-prospects (Andrew Vaughn, Jake Bauers, and Brice Turang, who had a 77 wRC+ over his first two seasons within the majors earlier than he discovered his energy stroke) into good hitters. Bauers, who didn’t hit a lick his first 5 years within the large leagues, is now toting round a 140 wRC+. Chapeau, Milwaukee. You’ve finished the inconceivable.

You’ve most likely discovered the place I’m going with this: If the Brewers can work the identical magic on Naylor, it greases the skids to commerce Contreras this offseason. The Brewers could have picked up their subsequent beginning catcher, who’s underneath crew management by 2030, for a low-leverage reliever and an outfielder they had been most likely going to non-tender anyway. That’d be fairly a steal, if it really works out.

However I’m getting forward of myself. For now, that is an change of depth relievers and back-of-the-40-man place gamers, none of whom are prone to make a large impression on this season’s pennant race. The Guardians acquired the higher finish of the swap of pitchers, but when the Brewers can return Naylor to something like his earlier customary of competence, they received’t miss Yoho even somewhat.