Guardian consent Austin Hedges Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the two sides signed a one-year contract. Boras Corporation customers received $4MM in guarantees, and the deal included an additional $500,000 in incentives.
Hedges returns to Cleveland on the same contract he signed the past two offseasons. This is his third consecutive one-year deal to serve as the Guardians’ backup catcher. Cleveland continues to put enough emphasis on his catching and play-calling abilities to accommodate the complete lack of offense at the position.
In parts of 11 seasons, Hedges batted .185/.244/.313. That includes a .157/.229/.251 mark in 326 games over the past two years. The 33-year-old won’t provide any offensive help, but he’s still a quality defensive receiver. Statcast regularly ranks him as one of the best pitch-setters in the game. He’s generally graded as a high-end blocker, despite being average in that category last season. Hedges also knocked down one-third of the 45 runners who tried to sneak up on him, well above the league average of 22.3 percent.
While Hedges has excelled in the quantifiable aspects of receiver defense, he may be more highly regarded in terms of intangibles. He earned a strong reputation as a game caller and rapport with pitchers. With the imminent introduction of a challenge system to supplement home plate umpire pitches and strikes, the Guardians didn’t count on his value to drop.
There’s been speculation that ABS might be a bad rule change for defensive-only receivers. The Guardians don’t seem to think this is a blow to Hedges’ value. Receiver framing will still be a part of the game, as teams can only have two unsuccessful challenges before overtime. ABS certainly doesn’t diminish a catcher’s game acumen, either.
The Cleveland catcher is hitting .187/.269/.344 this season. This is almost entirely divided into Bonelle and hedges, with Dom Nunez Played in the last seven games. Naylor struggled through the end of August, despite a strong performance in September. Unless they include Naylor in a trade package for a bigger bat behind the plate, they’ll stick with this tandem for the third straight season.
Hedges is one of three players the Guardians are targeting in free agency. reliever Jacob Junis and outfielders Ryan Thomas It will be launched on the market in a few weeks. Guards also offers a 6MM club option for lefties John Means. Hedges is the fifth player on their contract through 2026, though it includes $6MM in salary Emmanuel Claes. The former star closer is currently on administrative leave amid Major League Baseball’s ongoing gambling investigation.
Jose Ramirez ($21MM), Tanner Beebe ($4MM) and a complete rescuer. Trevor Stephen ($3.5MM) is the only other player with a guaranteed salary. MLBTR writer Matt Swartz projects the team’s arbitration class revenue to be around $20MM, with nearly half of that going to Steven Kwan 8.8mm projection. Not tendered Ben Lively, Will Brennan, Nolan Jones, Matt Festa, Colby Allard and/or Sam Hentges Could drop the arbitrage category by $5-10MM.
According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Guardians’ player salaries have been around $100 over the past two seasons. Cleveland is unlikely to spend heavily in free agency, but they could make several mid-level acquisitions, similar to last winter’s trade, to bring back Carlos Santana and Sean Bieber. The Guardians will be entering the outfield market and may also be looking for an inning-eater to complement the young core of the rotation.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas of Imagn Images.
