HOUSTON On the mound, Tyler Naquin must be doing something right.
As he works to rebuild his career as a pitcher, the Guardians promoted the former big league outfielder from the Arizona Complex League to Class A Lake County on Tuesday.
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During spring training, 34-year-old Naquin reached out to the Guardians to inquire about trying a new professional path as a pitcher. In 2012, Cleveland selected Naquin as an outfielder with its first overall choice. He played in the major leagues for portions of eight seasons, the last of which being in 2023 with the White Sox after the first five were with Cleveland.
Naquin made 13 appearances in Cleveland’s ACL debut, going 2-0 with a 5.14 ERA. In 14 innings pitched, he gave up eight earned runs, walked eleven, and struck out eight.
He was struck with.170 by the opposition. Naquin pitched right-handed but batted left-handed as a hitter.
“Working with Tyler has been enjoyable for our pitching group,” said Guardians assistant general manager Matt Foreman. As he reaches a full-season affiliate and encounters more experienced hitters, we’re interested to see how he develops further.
Cleveland has gone through such changes before. They assisted Anthony Gose, a left-hander, in transitioning from major league outfielder to major league reliever. Before attempting his hand at pitching, Gose spent portions of five seasons in the major leagues as an outfielder with Detroit and Toronto.
With Cleveland, he returned to the major leagues and pitched for a portion of the 2021, 2022, and 2024 seasons. Tommy John surgery on his left elbow caused him to miss 2023.
Juan Brito was placed on the seven-day disabled list at Triple-A Columbus due to a strained left hamstring, among other minor league transactions. Brito struggled in spring training despite having a chance to earn a spot at second base for the Guardians.
He injured his right thumb while playing for Columbus to start the season. When Brito had the hamstring injury, he had just started playing again.
Brito is hammering.At Columbus, he hit 256 (21 for 82) with three home runs, six doubles, and 15 RBI.
After his wife gave birth in Columbus, right-hander Zak Kent, who has made four appearances for the Guardians this season, was placed on the Temporary Inactive list.
Columbus acquired outfielder Joe Lampe from Double-A Akron.
