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'A whole different animal': Tyler Naquin attempting to convert to a pitcher with Guardians
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- 'A whole different animal': Tyler Naquin attempting to convert to a pitcher with Guardians
Tyler Naquin was sitting in his car in a Texas parking lot a little over a year ago. He hadn't received any calls all winter about continuing his major league career, with all 30 clubs passing on him.
That's when he, an outfielder his entire big league career , got an idea.
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"I was sitting in the parking lot with my buddy [ Clay Tillman ]; he owns a gym down in College Station," Naquin said on Zoom Friday. "I just looked at him. I said, 'I think I'm going to pitch.' We went and picked up a glove and we started playing catch. It was as simple as that."
Naquin, 33, was signed by the Guardians to a minor league deal this week — as a right-handed pitcher. He spent five seasons with Cleveland as an outfielder between 2015 and 2020 and then kicked around the majors a bit until the end of 2023.
And for the past year he's been ramping up to make an attempt at returning to the major leagues, only this time on the mound.
"Pitching is obviously a whole different animal," Naquin said. "As a position player, you give the pitchers a hard time about just going back and forth about pitching and what's harder and this and that. And I've always respected pitchers. It takes a very different toll on your body."
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The last time Naquin was pitching, he was playing for Klein Collins High School in Spring, Texas, where he primarily was a closer when he was on the mound.
After making the decision to try to convert to a pitcher, Naquin began reaching out to former teammates and sending out videos. The Guardians decided to give him a shot, and he'll attempt to make the same transformation as Anthony Gose , who made it back to the majors before needing Tommy John surgery .
New York Mets right fielder Tyler Naquin (25) during a game against the Oakland Athletics on Sept. 25, 2022, in Oakland, California.
Tyler Naquin pitches, stats as pitcher
Naquin said his four-seam fastball has topped out at 97 mph and sits in the mid-90s, although he thinks there could be more in the tank. He's also developing a changeup and a cutter.
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"I enjoy throwing those and just learning how to throw the different grips and what might work for me," Naquin said. "I've been doing this for a year now, but I'm thankful to be somewhere where I would say — and from what I've heard — is number one in pitching development and just reading their pitchers, how they should be treated, and what an opportunity I have to come into that."
Naquin and Tillman, who's also a strength coach, began playing catch every day with the goal of slowly developing a pitching repertoire. Eventually, that led to some tapes being sent out to teams and conversations taking place. Now, Naquin will have a chance to throw to Guardians catchers this spring and perhaps in the minor leagues once camp breaks for the regular season.
"I know it seems like a big transition and stuff, which it is — I'm not making light of it at all — but it was a pretty simple thought," Naquin said. "The mechanics are very similar. … Working on the slope, downwards, is obviously different. I would say the hardest part wasn't the arm strength. It's learning how to use it, how to put your body in the right way to sequences up and use it efficiently in order to repeatedly throw baseballs as hard as you can."
The thought is simple; now it's about execution. As Naquin reports once again to the club's facility in Goodyear, Ariz ., it begins a long, and new, road back to the majors.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Guardians sign former outfielder Tyler Naquin as a pitcher
