Naylors share 'amazing moment' for Bo

July 7th, 2021

Cleveland’s No. 3 prospect Bo Naylor was at home, taking care of older brother and Indians right fielder Josh, when his phone rang.

Bo and Josh live together in the Cleveland area, as Bo just has a short drive down the road to his Double-A team in Akron. Josh usually has a quick jaunt over to Progressive Field, but he has been laid up due to a serious ankle injury in Minnesota on June 27. So on top of his role as brother and roommate, Bo gladly took on some responsibilities as a caretaker. And while Bo was in the middle of helping Josh, Indians vice president of player development James Harris gave him a call.

“He just asked me about Josh, how the day's going and how he's recovering,” Bo recalled. “I was just talking to him about the situation, where we were at, and then he said, 'Well, you know, it's not all bad news.'”

Harris broke the news to Bo that he had been selected to represent the Indians at the SiriusXM Futures Game on Sunday at Coors Field.

“From then on, [I] was just in awe,” Bo said. “It was definitely like the moment, sitting back and realizing it, it was amazing. I'm definitely grateful for every opportunity.”

There’s nothing more that either of the Naylor brothers want than for both of them to be healthy and on the field. However, if there’s one small silver lining to Josh’s injury, which he suffered just hours before Bo’s phone rang, it’s that he was able to be at home beside Bo when that call came through instead of at the ballpark, preparing for a game.

“Oh, it was amazing,” Bo said of having Josh with him when he got the news. “It seemed like he wanted to jump out of his seat. But it was amazing.”

The two couldn’t wait to video chat with the rest of their family and give everyone the happy news together. It was a whirlwind few days for the Naylors after having the tremendous scare of watching Josh get carted off the field, get his surgery scheduled and deal with the reality of his 2021 season coming to an end before being elated for the opportunity that catcher Bo was about to have.

“It was an amazing moment to share,” Bo said. “Even if I didn't have everyone that I would have wanted around me, definitely felt the presence there, even though we're FaceTiming with Josh by my side. Definitely taking advantage of it and yeah, it was just a surreal moment overall.”

So many siblings are close, but Josh, 24, and Bo, 21, seem to have a special brotherly relationship unlike any other. Bo was drafted by the Indians in the first round of the MLB Draft in 2018, and Josh was traded to Cleveland from the Padres at last year’s Trade Deadline. The two were bursting with excitement to both be in big league Spring Training camp in February and sent pictures of the lineup card with two Naylors penciled in to their mom, having shared a field only once in their lives prior to that point.

Bo has had the opportunity to learn from Josh from afar, but now that the two are in the same organization, it has become even easier. Josh participated in the Futures Game in both 2016 and ’17, and now Bo can continue to follow in his big brother’s footsteps.

“I’d seen my brother go through that process a couple times, and seeing the experiences that he got to live out, it was definitely a goal of mine to be able to achieve that,” Bo said. “Now that it’s happened, sitting back and rethinking through all the moments I had working to get to this point, it makes it all worth it. I’m very happy.”