CLEVELAND, Ohio — Tyler Naquin’s epiphany took place in a parking lot.
It was a January afternoon a little more than a year ago when Naquin sat with his friend, Clay Tillman, outside Tillman’s gym on the outskirts of College Station, Texas. That’s when, Naquin says, the idea to get on the mound first entered his mind.
“I just looked at him, I said, ‘I think I’m going to pitch,’ and we went and picked up a glove and we started playing catch,” Naquin said. “It was as simple as that. It was pretty quick. It started with just playing catch.”
An eight-year major league outfielder, Naquin had spent 2024 on the sidelines, helping out the staff at Texas A&M while staying in shape at the school where he played before Cleveland drafted him in the first round in 2012.
Now Naquin, who turns 34 at the end of April, was looking for another shot this time as a big league pitcher. So, he committed himself to making the comeback a reality.
Every day he would throw with Tillman and continue his workout program. When he told his family about the new goal, they supported him in every possible way.
“If we were anywhere, my brother would play catch with me,” Naquin said. “I would bring some kind of plyo balls or bands or something just to keep the arm moving. You’ve always got to keep your arm moving and make sure that you keep your arm up to speed if you’re going to do this.”
So Naquin got to work, sending around video to ex-players and coaches that knew him, and getting feedback as he made progress on the mound. He threw a pro day for scouts in January that produced positive results.
The Guardians were an obvious choice for the Texas native, who remembered how the club got the most out of its pitching prospects when he was on the other side of camp.
“My agent had reached out to teams and I was very adamant on reaching out here (Cleveland),” Naquin said. “Just because of the familiarity and the pitching development, and it’s just highly touted. We sent some videos and then had a scout come and watch a bullpen down in College Station.”
Naquin says he has not pitched competitively in a game since his freshman year at A&M, and even that was just a scrimmage. He was a closer on his Klein Collins High School team, and started a few games. But when he arrived in college — before the dawn of baseball analytics and the two-way player — he was steered toward the outfield as the best path to the big leagues.
Now Naquin is steering his own destiny, signing a minor league contract with the Guardians with the understanding that he faces long odds to achieve his goal.
“Pitching is obviously a whole different animal,” Naquin said. “It’s a very different toll on your body and completely different ramp-up session as far as getting ready to go out there and do what you have to do.”
But the right-hander says he’s always respected pitchers and what they do. Naquin said his biggest challenge right now is learning the routines that put him in the best position to succeed as he navigates the comeback route.
“It’s just figuring out what works for me, what routine works for me in order to project me forward fastest and safest and smartest way possible,” Naquin said.
Naquin said his fastball has topped out at 97 mph and that he usually sits 94-96 mph. He believes he can tap into more velocity as he learns more about his delivery.
“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 sequence up and use it efficiently in order to repeatedly throw a baseball as hard as you can,” Naquin said. “Just developing the feel and the efficiency to move down the slope because I’m no longer flatfooted moving on the outfield.”
He throws a changeup and a cutter and has enjoyed working on new pitch grips to see what works best for him. More of that is expected as he works with Cleveland’s player development staff.
“I’m thankful to be somewhere from what I’ve heard is number one in pitching development and just treating their pitchers how they should be treated,” Naquin said. “This is also somewhere where I’m comfortable and I’ve been around and there’s familiar faces. It’s a good recipe for success if done the right way and I think I’m in a really good spot for that.”
