Under-the-radar trade deadline acquisition crushes first two homers in Brewers' organization

Early returns on the Milwaukee Brewers' 2026 trade deadline haul have been a mixed bag. While starting pitcher Dustin May is off to a brilliant start in the Brewers' rotation, with two quality starts already to his name since the trade deadline, reliever Antonio Senzatela has struggled to a 9.82 ERA in five appearances since coming over from the Colorado Rockies at the beginning of the month.

While May and Senzatela are the only two deadline additions currently on the Brewers' roster, a pair of players not yet on the big-league squad still have the opportunity to improve the results of Matt Arnold and company's trio of deadline deals. The first is left-hander JoJo Romero, who came to the Brewers from the St. Louis Cardinals in the same deal as May. Romero underwent an emergency appendectomy back in mid-July, but his return from the injured list is drawing nearer. The Brewers expect Romero, who should slot in as a high-leverage option in Pat Murphy's 'pen, to return before the end of August, with the former Cardinal set to begin a rehab assignment this coming week.

Meanwhile, catcher Bo Naylor, who the Brewers acquired from the Cleveland Guardians for Craig Yoho and Blake Perkins, currently resides on Milwaukee's Triple-A roster, but the expectation is that he will factor into the big-league catching picture in 2027 and beyond. Naylor, who is under team control through the 2030 season, was brought in to offer another option behind the plate when Gary Sánchez becomes a free agent this offseason and the Brewers consider trading William Contreras ahead of his final year of team control.

However, Naylor is seen as something of a reclamation project, similar to how Andrew Vaughn was viewed when the Brewers acquired him last June. Naylor is a former first-round pick, who had a solid introduction to the big leagues before ultimately hitting a wall and subsequently being traded to the Brewers, very similar to Vaughn. If Milwaukee can unlock Naylor's true potential, their midseason swap with the Guardians could look rather lopsided, and last night the former Guardians catcher gave Brewers fans a reason to believe it's possible.

Bo Naylor crushes two homers in Nashville Sounds' Friday night rout of Pirates' Triple-A squad

When Naylor is at his best, he combines decent plate discipline numbers, highlighted by a consistently above-average chase rate, with sneaky pull-side power. From 2023 to 2025, Naylor crushed double-digit homers as Cleveland's backstop, a majority of which came to straight-away right field for the left-handed hitting catcher.

Last night, playing in his seventh game with the Sounds since being traded over to the Brewers on August 1, Naylor crushed two eye-popping homers en route to Nashville's 9-1 victory over the Indianapolis Indians, the Pittsburgh Pirates' Triple-A squad. Naylor's first homer, a two-run shot in the bottom of the first, left the bat at 106 mph and traveled 428 feet to center field. His second longball of the night, a solo shot in the second inning to right-center field, left the bat at 107.3 mph and traveled 420 feet.

It's fair to say that neither homer was "cheap," but rather both displayed the power potential that the Brewers' trade deadline acquisition possesses. In his seven games with the Sounds, Naylor has seven hits, three of which have gone for extra bases, and seven RBI.

The frustrating reality for Naylor is that regardless of how well he plays in Triple-A over the next month, it's highly unlikely he will earn another major league opportunity this season. The Brewers boast one of the stronger catching duos in baseball in William Contreras and Gary Sánchez, even if the former is in the midst of a major slump right now. Baring an injury to either Contreras or Sánchez, which is another reason the Brewers added a strong insurance policy in Naylor, the trade deadline acquisition looks destined to remain in the minor leagues for the rest of the 2026 campaign. However, a strong performance from Naylor with the Sounds over the next month could impact the Brewers' offseason strategy when it comes to their catching room.

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