Former MLB Outfielder Back in the Minor Leagues, Trying for Rebirth as a Pitcher

Out of baseball since 2023 – he played five games for the Chicago White Sox that season – Naquin, 34, decided last year to refresh the pitching skills he once had in high school.

In March, after he signed a minor league deal with the Guardians, he told MLB.com how he decided to take up pitching early in 2024, putting to use the arm strength he had as an outfielder. That February, he was clocked at 85 mph.

But after a year of following an arm-care program while helping out the coaching staff and his alma mater, Texas A&M, he told MLB.com that he’s gained around 10 mph more on his fastball, reaching a max of 97.

He said he was looking forward to working with the pitching staff with the Guardians.

“I definitely think, personally, that there's more [velocity] in there doing it the right way and learning from [the Guardians],” Naquin said, “and learning my body and how it moves and recovering the right way.”

He throws a four-seam fastball, a cutter and a changeup.

Naquin arrives in Lake County after 13 appearances with the Guardians in the Arizona Complex League. His numbers there show he still has things to work on with the Captains.

He was 2-0 but had a 5.14 ERA. He threw 14 innings and gave up eight runs on eight hits and 11 walks. He struck out eight batters – a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 0.73.

Cleveland selected Naquin in the first round, No. 15 overall, in the 2012 MLB Draft. He made his debut in April 2016, then went on to play 562 games with Cleveland (2016-20), the Cincinnati Reds (2021-22), New York Mets (2022) and White Sox (2023).

He has a career batting average of .263 with 61 home runs and 237 RBIs.