The Cleveland Indians have lost one of their best hitters in the fall baseball season.
The team placed first baseman Josh Naylor on the 10-day disabled list (IL) with a strained oblique, ESPN reported on Friday. Naylor reportedly missed the last two games with a related issue and was monitored. We’ve been trying to avoid the IL as much as possible, but it’s just not in the cards.
Big news. Naylor appeared in 96 games before the injury, batting .306 (110-for-360) with 15 home runs and 79 RBIs. His 79 RBIs were good for third in the American League, behind only Adolis Garcia (Texas Rangers – 87) and Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels – 82). Along with Jose Ramirez (.288 with 18 homers and 63 RBIs), he was the duo that led Cleveland’s offense before a sudden injury sidelined him.
Josh Naylor has been a key hitter for the Cleveland Indians this season. Getty Images메이저사이트
With 54 wins, Cleveland is in second place in the American League Central, two games behind the Minnesota Twins (56 wins). They’re in the thick of the fall baseball race, and Naylor’s loss will make the team’s batting lineup even weaker. ESPN reports, “Cleveland traded slugger Josh Bell to the Miami Marlins earlier this week. Infielder Tyler Freeman was placed on the IL,” and “(to fill the void) they acquired outfielder Cole Calhoun from the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash considerations and recalled infielder Jose Tena from Triple-A Columbus.
Naylor is a native of Mississauga in southern Ontario, Canada. He was selected by Miami with the 12th overall pick in the first round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft. His rookie contract was worth $2.2 million. He proved his worth by being called higher in that year’s draft than Walker Buehler (Los Angeles Dodgers – first round, 25th overall) and Austin Riley (Atlanta Braves – first round, 41st overall). He was dealt to the San Diego Padres in a July 2016 trade and was sent back to Cleveland in August 2020.
He made the jump to the big leagues last season, hitting 20 home runs. In his big league career (5 years), he has a .267 batting average with 51 home runs and 217 RBIs.