The Cleveland Guardians are trading former top prospect Bo Naylor to the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Cleveland Guardians are getting in on the early action ahead of the trade deadline.
The Guardians completed a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday morning, as Cleveland sent C Bo Naylor and RHP Codi Heuer to the National League contender for RHP Craig Yoho and OF Blake Perkins.
Both Naylor and Heuer were optioned to Triple-A Nashville. The Guardians have announced the trade, but have yet to make any corresponding moves.
For the Guardians, this move is about adding another bullpen arm as the reliever core has been extremely shaky, especially as of late.
Yoho is having a standout sophomore season, posting a 3.15 ERA and 0.85 WHIP over 15 games. The right-hander's whiff rate of 27.7 percent is slightly above average, and his strikeout rate of 23.1 percent is right on par with the rest of the league.
Jul 26, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Craig Yoho (48) throws a pitch in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn ImagesIn terms of what Perkins can provide, he owns a .701 OPS in 53 at-bats against southpaws this season. The addition of the switch-hitter won't put the Guardians over the edge, but he does give the team another platoon option.
What the Guardians gave up to get both the reliever and the outfielder isn't necessarily shocking.
Naylor's time with the Guardians essentially came to an end when Cleveland traded for catcher Patrick Bailey earlier in the season. After that move, the team optioned Bo to Triple-A, where he's been ever since.
Bo has shown encouraging signs with the Columbus Clippers since the demotion. He has a .776 OPS in 46 games with the Triple-A team.
The problem for Naylor was that there wasn't a true path to get back to the big-league level with the Guardians, even if he was swinging the bat well.
Cleveland already has Bailey and Austin Hedges taking on the catching duties, with David Fry as another option. In terms of prospects, both Cooper Ingle and Kody Huff were likely ahead of him, too.
This trade for the Guardians is primarily about moving on from an area of depth to address an area of need, with the bullpen being problematic in recent stretches.
The big question after this move is, will Cleveland make any more trades before Monday's deadline?
