Josh Naylor 'Excited' To Play Outfield For The Guardians In 2023
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The Guardians coaching staff is going to have some difficult decisions to make when constructing their lineups in 2023.
The organization signed known slugger Josh Bell over the offseason and his primary position is first base. They also have a number of good hitters on the roster that could fill in at designated hitter.
All of this may push Josh Naylor back to the outfield at times.
Naylor played outfield all throughout his MLB career including his time with the Padres and Cleveland. Right field is where he suffered the gruesome leg injury that left him out for half of the 2021 season.
In 2022 Naylor made the transition to first base for two reasons. The first was that there were no other true first basemen on the roster and someone had to play the position. The other reason was to limit Naylor's mobility as he continued to rehab from his ankle injury.
However, now with Bell on the roster, who has played first base his entire career, Naylor may be making the transition back to the outfield at times in order to keep his bat in the lineup.
This is what Naylor had to say about possibly playing both positions in 2023:
“I expected to go back out there this year, and I'm excited for it,” Naylor said. “I love playing the outfield. It's honestly a really cool position. And having the honor to play besides [Myles] Straw and [Steven Kwan] and learn from those guys is something I want to do every day.”
Having Naylor play back in the outield will definitely be a readjusmtnet for him. There were multiple times least season when he could be seen limping around or clearly uncomfortable after a slide.
This was all a part of his rehab, but as a fan you almost hurt for him seeing the pain and discomfort he was in.
Obviously, the team isn't going to put him into a position where he could injure himself again. So they must feel alright with Naylor playing in the outfield too. A
An encoiring part about all of this is that Naylor does feel like he's been able get in much better shape heading into this year by being able to do a variety of workouts. He had this so say about this offseason:
“I had one or two upper-body workouts that whole [rehab] offseason,” Naylor said. “So yeah, being able to mix things up this year, work on running stuff, agility work, and then going to the gym and doing upper back workout versus doing legs so often ... I feel more complete this offseason.”
Where we see Naylor playing in the field will continue to be an interesting storyline to follow and keep an eye on as Spring Tranining is just around the corner.
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