Ex-outfielder Naquin back with Guardians as pitcher

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Tyler Naquin is back in the Guardians organization, and he is going to try his hand (and arm) at a new position. The 33-year-old has signed a Minor League deal with Cleveland, and he will report to Minor League camp as a pitcher.

¡°[It¡¯s] really exciting, the familiarity with the person, with the organization,¡± Guardians VP of player development Stephen Osterer said. ¡°The stuff out of hand is really interesting, so there's a lot of excitement to pair with a really good athlete. There¡¯s the upside view of what that could look like down the road.¡±

Naquin played eight seasons in the Majors as an outfielder, including a five-year run with Cleveland (2016-20). He also had stints with the Reds (¡®21-22), Mets (¡¯22), and White Sox (¡¯23).

While Naquin (whom Cleveland drafted 15th overall in the 2012 MLB Draft) has not pitched in the Majors or Minors, he has a big arm and has recorded 32 career outfield assists, including an American League-leading nine in 2019. He has consistently ranked among the league leaders in arm strength among outfielders.

Here is where he ranked in recent seasons, among outfielders who made at least 50 throws:

• 2020: 93.0 mph average (fourth); 96.7 mph max
• 2021: 92.6 mph average (tied for ninth); 98.3 mph max
• 2022: 92.8 mph average (tied for 22nd); 95.6 mph max

Naquin¡¯s arm strength averaged 91.8 mph in 2023, although he only made nine throws during a five-game stint in the Majors with Chicago.

¡°The interest came from him in terms of seeing what pitching looked like,¡± Osterer said. ¡°But we started getting some reports that the stuff out of hand was pretty cool. [He was] throwing hard, he was creating some shapes [with his pitches].

¡°He¡¯s always had a good arm, but when you get that information and the familiarity -- we know him -- it was an interesting door to open up and talk about the opportunities where we could explore what that could look like.¡±

It¡¯s too early to determine whether Naquin will be working as a starter or reliever, Osterer said. But the Guardians are interested in seeing what he looks like in the new role. They have some experience with position players who made the transition to the mound. Anthony Gose made 31 appearances for Cleveland from 2021-24, including three last season. Gose debuted as a pitcher in 2017 with High-A Lakeland, a Tigers affiliate, after he played in 372 games from 2012-16 with Toronto and Detroit as a position player.

Naquin will attempt to make a similar transition, after appearing in 562 games as a position player.

¡°He's thrown a bunch of bullpens and he's been putting in consistent work over the last month and a half, so not starting from a fresh workload or anything like that,¡± Osterer said. ¡°He¡¯s gonna come in and hopefully be able to put the foot on the gas right away, so we can kind of see what it is, and see what kind of path we want to take moving forward.¡±