The Cleveland Guardians march to the beat of their very own drum, and it often works out moderately effectively for them. Nevertheless, if this franchise goes to ascend to the subsequent stage and return to the World Collection for the primary time since 2016, it might have to open up the checkbook a bit extra. Possession is doing simply that on Tuesday evening, however surprisingly, the workforce’s backup catcher is the recipient. Defensive savant Austin Hedges is re-signing with the Guards on a $4 million contract, per Jon Heyman of the New York Publish and MLB Community.
The deal additionally consists of $500 thousand in incentives. That could be a fairly penny to pay for a .185 profession hitter who will proceed to play behind Bo Naylor. Hedges ranked within the top-five in catcher stealing runs and catcher framing runs in the course of the 2025 marketing campaign, per Baseball Savant, and is undeniably an asset to a pitching employees that completed fourth in MLB with a 3.70 ERA. The issue, nonetheless, is that the 33-year-old doesn’t often play sufficient to warrant such a monetary dedication.
Hedges, who gained a title with the Texas Rangers in 2023, logged simply 134 video games with the Guardians throughout the final two seasons. Furthermore, he posted a measly .161 batting common and .527 OPS in 2025. Until the 2011 second-round draft choose spends significantly extra time on the backstop, this transfer might be tough to elucidate to followers. Although, contemplating that Naylor hit under the Mendoza Line himself, perhaps Hedges can have a extra frequent in-game presence in 2026.
Following a two-year stretch that has seen Cleveland attain the American League Championship Collection and full an unprecedented comeback within the AL Central, one can perceive why president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti would need to preserve Austin Hedges on the roster. However at that value, followers will demand that the Guardians handle different wants in free company as effectively.
If Cleveland totally embodies its small-market nature the remainder of its offseason, individuals will vividly bear in mind this transfer.