A deep dive on Quantrill, Naylor, Hedges

Like a transfer student in the middle of the school year, the Indians had three new kids show up to class on Monday afternoon, and each quickly adjusted to their new surroundings. The Tribe completed a trade on Monday that shipped Mike Clevinger to San Diego and brought reliever Cal

Like a transfer student in the middle of the school year, the Indians had three new kids show up to class on Monday afternoon, and each quickly adjusted to their new surroundings.

The Tribe completed a trade on Monday that shipped Mike Clevinger to San Diego and brought reliever Cal Quantrill, first baseman/outfielder Josh Naylor and catcher Austin Hedges to the Tribe’s big league squad. Here’s a look at each:

Quantrill
The right-hander said he would’ve been ready to pitch on Monday if the Indians would’ve let him, despite traveling from Colorado to Kansas City after receiving the news earlier that morning that he’d been traded. Though the Indians opted to give him a night off, the team is looking forward to adding an arm to an already effective bullpen. The 25-year-old owns a 2.60 ERA in 10 appearances (one start) with 18 strikeouts and six walks in 17 1/3 innings this season.

• ‘No bad blood’ — Clevinger says goodbye

“I think he’s going to bring some outstanding depth to the bullpen,” said Hedges, who was Quantrill’s primary catcher in San Diego. “He can give you multiple innings. … His two-seam/slider combo is outstanding. He controls them. He can throw them to both sides of the plate whenever he wants to. He’s a bulldog.”

Quantrill has been a starter and reliever in his short big league career. And though his immediate future will be among the Tribe’s relief corps, the Indians have already noted that they haven’t ruled out Quantrill transitioning back into a starter.

“I’ve trained my whole life to be a starter,” Quantrill said. “I’d love to be one. But I think I’ve made this clear all year long: I’m here to win. I’m here to win in whatever capacity they need me. If that’s out of the ‘pen, great.”

Naylor
One of the first calls Naylor received after being traded was from his younger brother, Bo, the Indians’ No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline.

“[My family] loved it,” Naylor said of joining his brother’s organization. “They were excited and happy and over the moon. … Hopefully the stars align and me and him are in the same lineup one day and get to hang out every day and hopefully live together.”

Josh Naylor said the Indians’ message to him was simple: Be yourself and enjoy it. His role will likely stay in the corner outfield spots, but the 23-year-old is primarily a first baseman who can provide some infield depth for the club should it need it.

“I’m kind of good going anywhere,” Naylor said. “I feel the Padres prepared me really good enough to play the outfield or play first or wherever I’m put. … Obviously, my whole game needs work and I feel like no player is complete. No player is perfect. If I can just get a little better every day, whether it’s at first base or left field, right field, wherever it is, I’m just going to try and grow there and be the best player for the Indians.”

Hedges
With two big league catchers already on the 28-man roster, the Indians aren’t sure yet what the balance of playing time will be between the three backstops outside of Roberto Pérez getting the majority of the reps.

“There are going to be opportunities for pinch-hitting or baserunning,” Indians temporary manager Sandy Alomar Jr. said. “We’d use a pinch-runner for one of the guys because I know that all three catchers are slow, so we have an opportunity to move guys there and put good defensive catchers in to replace another one.”

“When you’ve got three established catchers like you mentioned,” Hedges said, “I think every single one of those is a winning recipe. I know everybody here is just trying to win ballgames, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

Hedges is known for his defense, as he was second in baseball to only Pérez last season with plus-21 Defensive Runs Saved, per FanGraphs.

“I want every aspect to be clean, under control,” Hedges said, “from blocking, throwing, receiving, really all of the above. I’m just trying to be the whole package. There are some things that might stand out. I’ve been great at receiving and everything like that, but I don’t necessarily take that more serious than any other aspect. I want them all to be as good as possible. But the number one priority is the [pitching] staff. Just calling a good game and making sure that relationship is we’re on the same page.”