Josh Naylor’s rocky history with Hedges, Guardians

Published 12:37 pm Wednesday, July 1, 2026

CLEVELAND — On Sept. 16, 2024, after Kyle Manzardo blasted a bellybutton-high heater into the Cleveland night for a go-ahead home run to nudge the Guardians one step closer to a division title, Josh Naylor waited for his teammate at home plate.

Naylor applauded Manzardo as he completed his trot and then spread his arms wide for the rookie to accept a bear hug that would move their manager to tears. Stephen Vogt couldn’t conceal his emotion after the game as he reflected on that moment.

By that point, Naylor was on borrowed time with the Guardians. His final season in Cleveland was an icy one, and everyone understood Manzardo was his eventual replacement at first base. Vogt didn’t tear up because the Guardians won a pivotal game; he was proud of the moment that unfolded at home plate, when Naylor set aside frustrations for the good of the team.

Naylor’s history with the Guardians — and his reputation across the league — is complicated, and it’s under a magnifying glass after he and Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges exchanged insults Sunday at Progressive Field.

In the sixth inning, Tim Herrin struck Naylor in the arm with a 77.7 mph curveball. The Guardians started chirping that he didn’t deserve first base. Naylor chirped back with some derogatory insults and hand gestures. And then Hedges, as revealed via a Jomboy Media audio clip, appeared to deliver the lines: “Nobody likes you. Literally, nobody likes you. Your own f—ing teammates don’t like you.”

That’s not a response to a player refusing to duck out of the way of a curveball. That’s years of history and context bubbling over during a game in which the Guardians looked flat and sloppy before rallying for five runs in the eighth to notch what Vogt deemed “as big of a win as we’ve had all year.”

Vogt didn’t shed any tears this time, but he did say the interaction between Naylor and Hedges was “right on par.”

“(Naylor) went to first base, and I heard him chirping,” Vogt said. “I figured it was two former teammates having a conversation from 90 feet away.”

Hedges was not available to comment Monday.

When Naylor arrived in Cleveland as part of a six-player package for Mike Clevinger in August 2020, he was the life of the party, a constant source of energy. His fiery attitude on the field endeared him to teammates and irked opponents.

In May 2022, he delivered a score-tying grand slam in the ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox and tacked on a go-ahead three-run shot in extra innings. When he returned to the dugout after the second homer, he repeatedly pounded his chest and shouted that he wanted “all the smoke” and then launched his helmet off the wall in the dugout. A month later, after he socked a walk-off homer, he delivered a celebratory headbutt to manager Terry Francona.

That October, Naylor smacked a homer off Gerrit Cole in the American League Division Series, and as he rounded the bases, he taunted the New York Yankees ace with a “rock the baby” gesture. New York second baseman Gleyber Torres mimicked the motion after recording the final out of the series to eliminate Cleveland.

In 2023, however, the relationship between the player and the organization started to become strained.

Cleveland’s front office was bearish about the club’s chances in the second half, and Aaron Civale had pitched his way to peak value, so the Guardians flipped Civale to the Tampa Bay Rays for Manzardo, a first-base prospect. The trade sent shockwaves through the clubhouse. Civale was blindsided, as he had arrived at the ballpark in Houston for his day-after-start arm-care routine, and coaches had to relay he was being dealt.

The swap especially upset Naylor, who was close friends with Civale. Their families even vacationed together in Jamaica. In exchange for Civale, the Guardians essentially landed Naylor’s replacement. They also traded Josh Bell to the Miami Marlins.

Team executives Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff boarded a 6:30 a.m. flight to Houston the morning after the trade deadline to hold office hours for anyone frustrated with their decisions. They met with Naylor and José Ramírez, among others.

The next season was uncomfortable, as Naylor was at odds with the organization about his future. The Guardians didn’t convey interest in signing him long-term, which didn’t sit well with him, team sources granted anonymity to discuss internal matters told The Athletic. Cleveland didn’t care to commit to him into his 30s at a non-premium position. Naylor dropped a few not-so-subtle hints during postgame news conferences, urging the front office to lock up him and certain teammates to long-term deals.

By the time Naylor and Manzardo embraced at home plate on the cusp of an AL Central title, his time with the organization was running out.

The Guardians figured they’d trade Naylor that winter, ahead of his final year of control before he reached free agency. In December 2024, they sent him to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Slade Cecconi and a competitive balance draft pick. The same day, they signed Carlos Santana, a steady veteran they knew well, to a one-year deal to replace him. Privately, the Guardians wondered whether Bo Naylor might benefit from not having his big brother over his shoulder.

That didn’t pan out, though.

Bo struggled last season, and after a rough first month this year, the Guardians demoted him and traded for a replacement in Patrick Bailey. Barring an injury or a shift in organizational thinking, there doesn’t appear to be a path back to the big-league roster for Bo. It seems inevitable that the club ships him to a catcher-starved team for a lottery ticket, either at the trade deadline or over the winter.

When the Guardians traded for Bailey, Hedges said all the right things publicly. He expressed confidence in Bo — the two were tight, but the development undoubtedly created awkwardness — and shared how he had long admired Bailey’s defensive ability.

Bo’s brother, meanwhile, has continued to stir the pot with the Seattle Mariners.

In Game 7 of the AL Championship Series in October, he leaped in the air and spun around to absorb a throw from former teammate Ernie Clement. Umpires ruled Naylor interfered, resulting in a double play after the ball ricocheted off his helmet. Another ex-teammate, Shane Bieber, shouted at Naylor as he walked off the mound.

Earlier this month, in a series in Detroit, he collided with Kevin McGonigle at first base and tossed his sliding glove at Dillon Dingler before plunging into home plate. Tigers pitcher Keider Montero later struck him with a 96 mph fastball, which Naylor said was intentional. That led Colt Keith to describe Naylor as: “You like him if you’re his teammate, and you hate him if you’re on the other team.”

Hedges might disagree.