Tyler Naquin spent part of eight seasons in the majors, whose first five came to Cleveland. In 2016, he finished third in the recruit of Al of the year and appeared in five World Series games against the Cubs. He saw the time in the three outdoor field positions, mainly on the right and in the center, and appeared for the last time in a Mlb Game for White Sox in 2023.
The Guardians bring him back to the organization for a minor league agreement, but the wrinkle here is that it comes back as a launcher. Naquin was a first round choice in Texas A&M in 2012 (15th in total) and did not launch with minors or even in college. He had a very strong arm in the outside field (using Statcast data, he ranked a little in the 99th centile in force of the arms among field players), but this is a fairly rare step.
Of course, a game player who turns into a launcher is not unknown. Closer to Kenley Jansen was a receiver of minors. Former closers Joe Nathan (Cop-Court) and Sean Dolittle (first base player) were also position players to start their professional career. More recently, the Anthony Gose voltiseur has converted from the outcry to pitcher.
Gose was a Toronto and Detroit voltiseur from 2012 to 2016 and appeared as a launcher with Cleveland in 2021-22 and 2024, appearing at an MPM of 4.78 in 32 rounds. He is now in the organization of dishes.
He can also go in the other direction, especially among recent players, with Rick Ankiel going from a launcher to a voltijouriser. The launcher Michael Lorenzen has appeared in 34 games as aerobatic since 2018. And, of course, there is always Babe Ruth, who came as a launcher and finally became a full -time defender.
Naquin’s trip now as a launcher will be fun to watch, if nothing else.
