Josh Naylor, a 24-year-old outfielder for the Cleveland Guardians, underwent surgery on his right leg and ankle on July 2 to treat several fractures and ligament tears, which forced the end of his 2021 season.
During a collision with teammate Ernie Clement during a pop-up in right field at Target Field in Minnesota, Naylor sustained injuries.
Naylor has been recuperating at the team’s Goodyear Development Complex and has progressed to using a treadmill. He was just given the go-ahead to work in the cage this week.
Nothing is certain, but Naylor seems to be making great strides and might be prepared for the 2022 season. It remains to be seen if that will be in the outfield, at first base, or as a designated hitter to open the season.
Since Naylor still has three minor league options left on his contract, Cleveland may decide to have him begin the season at Triple-A Columbus.
Tyler underwent shoulder surgery on August 9 in order to fix a tiny rupture in his left labrum and fix issues from a previous labrum operation he had on October 4 after his first season of professional baseball.
If healthy, the young shortstop prospect should start the 2022 campaign at Triple-A Columbus, though there’s a chance the team would move him back to Double-A Akron. Tyler may certainly make his MLB debut at some time in 2018 year. If that does occur, it will probably happen at some point in the second half of the season.