Guardians Sign Free Agent Veteran Outfielder.... To Be a Pitcher

He finished third in Rookie of the Year balloting with Cleveland in 2016, batting .296 with an .886 OPS. He spent eight years in the majors as an outfielder, with a league average OPS+ of 100. But after taking last season off, Tyler Naquin has converted to pitching, and now he's back where it all began, in Cleveland.

Here is a fun one: We've signed RHP Tyler Naquin to a Minor League contract. He has reported to the club's Goodyear facility, converting to a right-handed pitcher. pic.twitter.com/LwGzHLf147
— GuardsInsider (@GuardsInsider) March 6, 2025

Naquin, as a right-handed pitcher, has signed a minor league contract with the Guardians for 2025.

Now, 33, Naquin spent the first five years of his big league career in Cleveland, batting .274 with a .766 OPS and an OPS+ of 100. He displayed his arm strength while playing as an outfielder, leading the league in outfield assists in 2019, and recording 32 of them over his career.

He ranked anywhere from the 94th to the 99th percentile in arm strength for the last three years of his OF career when that was measured.

Naquin has yet to pitch in the majors or minors, but he'll get a chance to work on it in the Guardians system.

This isn't the first time Cleveland has given an outfielder a shot at becoming a pitcher as they also had Anthony Gose make 31 appearances from 2021-24, including three last season. In 32 total innings, he had a 4.78 ERA while striking out 11.5 batters per nine innings.