WEST SACRAMENTO -- Guardians catching prospect Cooper Ingle was activated off the 7-day Minor League injured list on Sunday and returned to Triple-A Columbus’ lineup against Toledo.
Ingle, ranked as the Guardians' No. 5 prospect and No. 87 overall by MLB Pipeline, went on the IL on April 24 with right hip inflammation. He played in 15 of the Clippers’ first 19 games, and given the hip issue amid that workload, Cleveland exercised caution with the 24-year-old and opted to slow things down.
Ingle (who went 0-for-4 while DH-ing for Columbus on Sunday) got off to a stellar start this season offensively. Over his first 15 games, he slashed .394/.630/.788 with one double, four home runs, 16 RBIs and 20 walks with just nine strikeouts.
Ingle was a non-roster invitee in big league camp this spring. He is on the map for a potential MLB callup this season, but there are a few pieces to the equation alongside hitting, given the nature of his position. Catchers also are tasked with throwing, blocking pitches and calling pitches.
Of course, the Guardians have three veterans on their big league roster whom they trust in Bo Naylor, Austin Hedges and David Fry. Cleveland wants Ingle to continue his work improving behind the plate.
“Defense is so important to us, and preventing runs is so important to us,” Guardians assistant general manager James Harris said. “No. 1 is to put our pitchers in a position to help us prevent runs, and then if that position produces offense, outstanding. That's exactly what every team is looking for.
“[Ingle] just happens to have that [offense] at a high level. So we need to make sure that everything else is at a high level, too.”
Harris said Ingle has done well from a throwing standpoint. There’s more that goes into the position and a player’s development. Coming off the IL, one priority for Ingle is getting his body reacclimated to catching after being sidelined.
The Guardians’ big league catchers have gotten off to an interesting start collectively at the plate this season. Naylor entered Sunday with a .397 OPS in 24 games. Hedges has been a revelation, logging an .864 OPS in 13 games, while Fry has a .785 OPS in 18 games. The latter has made four appearances behind the plate (two starts), along with nine in right field, four at DH and one at first base.
With their trust in that trio, the Guardians’ balance this season will be how Ingle can help their entire mix offensively, along with the opportunity and at-bats they have available for him. Offense is only one piece of their equation.
“You’ve got to throw, you’ve got to block, you’ve got to call pitches, you’ve got to hit, you’ve got to run the bases,” Harris said. “So this is not a finished product, nor does he have to be to be able to help us up here. But we got three really good ones in that clubhouse right now.”
Kayfus on the mend
Harris noted outfielder/first baseman CJ Kayfus is recovering after being sidelined by oblique soreness, but he should be back in Columbus’ lineup in the coming days.
The Guardians optioned Kayfus to Columbus on April 13. He appeared in seven games with the Clippers, but he has not played since April 24. Kayfus went from an environment in the Majors where his playing time was limited to playing every single day with Columbus, and the soreness crept in.
Kayfus underwent imaging and did not have a strain. The Guardians pulled his workload back to then ramp him back up. He has been hitting, doing work defensively and lifting weights ahead of his expected return in the near future.
“It’s early on, and with some soreness we’ve just got to be careful and see what it was,” Harris said. “When we saw that there was nothing there, we were like, ‘OK, let’s slow-play him,’ like we probably should have done when we sent him down. That’s on me.”
Kayfus hit .310 (9-for-29) with two doubles, four walks and five strikeouts over his first seven games with Columbus.