A Cleveland Guardian has won the Tip O’Neill award.
On December 7, it was announced by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum that the 26-year-old first baseman won the award.
The Tip O’Neill award is given out annually to a Canadian player who had great individual achievement while being a professional. Naylor did just that, slashing .308/.354/.489 with 17 home runs in 495 plate appearances. Moreover, he had a 6.7 BB% and a 13.7 K% for a 128 wRC+ and a 2.5 fWAR.
This ends a two-year streak of a Blue Jay winning the award, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won the award in 2021 after an MVP-calibre season, while closer Jordan Romano won the award in 2022.
Naylor also has two brothers that could eventually win the award. One of his brothers, Bo Naylor, is the catcher for the Guardians. In his first full season in the majors, he slashed .237/.339/.470 with 11 home runs in 230 plate appearances for a 124 wRC+ and a 2.4 wRC+.
His youngest brother, Myles Naylor, was selected by the Oakland Athletics with the 39th overall pick in 2023. The 18-year-old shortstop slashed .214/.288/.381 with six homers in 139 plate appearances to start his professional career with their Arizona Complex League team and their Single-A team.
Could Josh Naylor become a trade candidate? The Cleveland Guardians had a poor year and will pick first overall in the 2024 draft and are a small market team. As it stands, the 26-year-old is about to hit arbitration for the second time in his career and is coming off a career-year. It stands to reason that Cleveland could move him while his trade value is at the highest.
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