Biography
Noah-Gibson "Bo" Naylor (born February 21, 2000) is a Canadian professional baseball catcher for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.
Amateur career
Naylor attended St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario, and played for the Canadian junior national baseball team. He appeared in the Under Armour All-America Game and the Under-18 Baseball World Cup held in Ontario in 2017. He committed to attend Texas A&M University to play college baseball.
Professional career
The Cleveland Indians selected Naylor in the first round, with the 29th pick, in the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with Cleveland, rather than enroll at Texas A&M, for a $2,578,138 signing bonus. He was assigned to the Arizona League Indians and spent the whole season there, with a batting average of .274 with two home runs and 17 runs batted in (RBI) in 33 games played. Naylor spent the 2019 season with the Lake County Captains. Over 107 games, he batted .243 with 11 home runs and 65 RBI.
Naylor did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, he played with the Akron RubberDucks, slashing .188/.280/.332 with ten home runs and 44 RBI over 87 games. In June, Naylor was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game. In 2022, with Akron, Naylor had a .271 average, .898 OPS and six home runs. Naylor was promoted to the Columbus Clippers in June.
The Guardians selected Naylor's contract on October 1, 2022, adding him to their active roster. He made his major league debut the same day against the Kansas City Royals as a defensive replacement. He made his first start the next day.
Before the 2023 season, Naylor played for the Canadian national baseball team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The Guardians optioned Naylor to Columbus to start the 2023 season. He played in 67 games for Cleveland in 2023, hitting .237/.339/.470 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI.
On May 4, 2024, Naylor hit his first career grand slam off of Reid Detmers of the Los Angeles Angels.
Personal life
Naylor's older brother, Josh Naylor, was his teammate on the Cleveland Guardians until he was traded following the 2024 season. Josh now plays first baseman and outfielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks. His younger brother, Myles Naylor, plays for the Oakland Athletics organization.