How The Brewers Can Maximize The Sleeping Giant, Bo Naylor

The Milwaukee Brewers have made a deal a day ahead of the 2026 MLB trade deadline, and this one centers around Bo Naylor. Milwaukee is shipping pitcher Craig Yoho and outfielder Blake Perkins to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for pitcher Codi Heuer and Naylor. Naylor has shown in the past that he has the intangibles to be a productive bat in a contending lineup. Let’s break down what has gone wrong in the past couple of years and how the Brewers can maximize their return on this deal.

Bo Naylor’s Background

Naylor is a five-year MLB veteran, and he’s a former first-round pick from the 2018 MLB Draft. Cleveland selected him with the 29th overall pick as a product right out of St. Joan of Arc Catholic CC.

The 26-year-old made a splash in 2023, his first real crack at the big leagues after logging just eight at-bats the year prior. The Guardians’ former backstop currently has 40 career home runs and a .199 batting average over 1,131 at-bats. This year, with a limited sample size to go off of, the catcher has struggled to get on base at a consistent clip. However, there’s evidence out there that Naylor can punish opposing pitching.

The Early Glory Days

The 26-year-old’s best season to date was three years ago. The backstop hit 11 home runs and drove in 32 runs over 67 games, slashing .237/.339/.470 with a career-best .809 OPS. He was picking up the baseball, operating with a 37.0 Launch Angle Sweet Spot percentage, good enough to put him well above the league average that year. Naylor showed an ability to spray the ball all over, but 10 of his 11 long balls that season were to the pull side, implying the newest Brewer has been at his best when he can get in front of a pitch.

His pop time was also an immaculate 1.94 (67th percentile) that season, showing that he can have a profound impact on defense too.

What Went Wrong?

Over the last three years, we’ve seen Naylor’s OPS drop drastically. So far in 2026, it’s at just a .438 through 28 games. This also marks the first time since 2022 that Naylor has been a negative WAR player, registering a -0.6 mark entering the month of August. 

What led to this drop-off? Naylor’s walk rate has tanked to 6.7 percent. It’s well below the league average number. Advanced analytics imply he’s running into a bit of bad luck, as his expected batting average (.215) is 72 points higher than his actual clip (.143). The same can be said for his expected slugging percentage (.399), a mark that far exceeds his real mark (.238). 

The good news, along with those numbers implying he could be due for a spike in production, is that Naylor has the right habits. His 25.6% chase rate and 14.8 % whiff rate are far better than the big league average; now it’s just about working enough counts to see ball four or at least get in an advantageous count.

Milwaukee Is The Perfect Fit 

Enter the Brewers, a team that could serve as the perfect home for someone aiming to get on base. Entering play on Aug. 1, Milwaukee has drawn the second most walks (451) in all of baseball, trailing only the Cubs. As a result, Pat Murphy’s squad also has the third-best on-base percentage (.338) of anybody in the sport. There are examples up and down the lineup of players who can spoil off pitches, work deep into counts, and get their on-base percentages up. 

With Gary Sanchez slashing .214/.368/.422, there could be room for Naylor in a role supplementary to William Contreras. 

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