The Cleveland Guardians march to the beat of their own drum, and it usually works out reasonably well for them. However, if this franchise is going to ascend to the next level and return to the World Series for the first time since 2016, it may need to open up the checkbook a bit more. Ownership is doing just that on Tuesday night, but surprisingly, the team'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 Post and MLB Network.
The deal also includes $500 thousand in incentives. That is a pretty penny to pay for a .185 career hitter who will continue to play behind Bo Naylor. Hedges ranked in the top-five in catcher stealing runs and catcher framing runs during the 2025 campaign, per Baseball Savant, and is undeniably an asset to a pitching staff that finished fourth in MLB with a 3.70 ERA. The problem, however, is that the 33-year-old does not usually play enough to warrant such a financial commitment.
Hedges, who won a title with the Texas Rangers in 2023, logged just 134 games with the Guardians across the last two seasons. Moreover, he posted a measly .161 batting average and .527 OPS in 2025. Unless the 2011 second-round draft pick spends considerably more time at the backstop, this move will be difficult to explain to fans. Though, considering that Naylor hit below the Mendoza Line himself, maybe Hedges will have a more frequent in-game presence in 2026.
Following a two-year stretch that has seen Cleveland reach the American League Championship Series and complete an unprecedented comeback in the AL Central, one can understand why president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti would want to keep Austin Hedges on the roster. But at that price, fans will demand that the Guardians address other needs in free agency as well.
If Cleveland fully embodies its small-market nature the rest of its offseason, people will vividly remember this move.
