From the Collection: Tyler Nanquin, p, Cleveland Guardians
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Outfielder Tyler Nanquin never had a chance with Cleveland as a position player. It’s not his fault. The team has some sort of pox that simply won’t allow the organization to consistently develop quality outfielders. Over the last decade or so, the only really good outfielder the team had drafted and developed was 2018 5th round pick Steven Kwan. Tyler Nanquin, the team’s 2012 1st round pick, was part of a particularly bad run of outfielder 1st round picks that included Clint Frazier (2013), Bradley Zimmer and Mike Papi (2014), and Will Benson (2016). Though who knows, maybe Benson will still pan out.
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Tyler Naquin did have some memorable moments in the majors. As a part-time player, he enjoyed a couple of solid seasons with an OPS+ above 100. In 2021, he appeared to have a late-career breakout, recording 19 home runs and a 107 OPS+ with Cincinnati. Unfortunately, this season turned out to be his last in the majors, and he struggled significantly over the following two years. By the end of the 2023 season, after being released by the White Sox, it seemed like his career was over at the age of 32, having accumulated a total of 3.3 WAR over eight seasons.
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But nope! In 2025, Tyler Nanquin decided to make a comeback. He signed as a free agent with Cleveland, and sure enough, he is popping up in box scores again. Only this time, he is a pitcher.
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I can’t say how well it’s going, though. At High-A Lake County, he pitched to a 7.02 ERA, which isn’t great. He walked a ton of batters (18 in 16.2 innings), but he also struck out 12. So he has a ways to go before he will be the next Rick Ankiel or Kenley Jansen.
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Of note: The last two Cleveland players I remember trying to pull something like this off were Rafael Betancourt (came up as a middle infielder with the Red Sox) and outfielder Anthony Gose. If Nanquin has half the career that Betancourt had, it would be a win.