CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Guardians announced that Austin Hedges signed a one-year, $4 million major league contract on Friday.
“We are excited to welcome Austin Hedges back to the organization,” Cleveland’s President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti said. “We feel Austin is a perfect compliment to our catching group. Austin’s an extraordinary defender, great leader of the pitching staff, and an important presence in the clubhouse.”
Antonetti added that Hedges was one of the team’s first calls in free agency, and one of the first free agents that manager Stephen Vogt recruited.
Hedges, 31, was originally acquired by Cleveland from San Diego in a nine-player deal in August of 2020. Hedges was the primary catcher for Cleveland in 2021 and 2022 with the club going a combined 108-74 (.593) in his starts.
“Everything going on in my life, everything I’ve been through this past year, nothing made more sense,” Hedges said. “To me it’s like coming home. I love Cleveland. It’s kind of an obvious decision for me.”
He was a member of the 2022 American League Central Division champion Guardians team. In that season, Hedges was tied for sixth among AL catchers in defensive runs saved (8). Cleveland pitchers also posted a 3.37 ERA with him behind the plate that year.
“I’m just so excited and like giddy to get back to this group of guys,” Hedges said. “It’s just such a special place and special group of guys. I know we’re going to do something special this year.”
Hedges split the 2023 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers. He had 24 at-bats with the Rangers and won the World Series with the team.
“It was a heck of a learning year for me,” Hedges said. “It became more clear to me what a winning culture looks like. It’s awesome to see that we have that in Cleveland.”
Bo Naylor was the man behind the plate for the majority of the 2023 season for the Guardians. It appears that Hedges will be Naylor’s backup and serve as a mentor for the 23 year-old backstop.
“My role is pretty clear,” Hedges said. “The main priority is to lead the guys and to help Bo. I feel very confident that with myself, with Sandy Alomar, we can help Bo make some significant strides this year and really be the guy behind the plate for the Guardians for years to come.”
Naylor now has a 9-year MLB veteran to play with in Hedges, and a 10-year MLB veteran to be managed by in Stephen Vogt next season.
“He certainly won’t lack for resources,” Antonetti said. “We want to make sure that we have a consistent message for Bo to help make sure that he’s progressing in the right path in a way that makes most sense for him.”
The roster is currently at 40 players after the team designated infielder Alfonso Rivas for assignment on Friday.
