Hedges agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract with the Pirates on Saturday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
For as great as Hedges is on the defensive side of the ball, he gives most of that value back at the dish. The 30-year-old has a career 54 wRC+ (100 is average) and he's been below that mark each of the past four seasons. Even in two-catcher fantasy leagues, Hedges falls short of clearing the bar, though his addition should be a boon to the Pirates' pitching staff.
Hedges isn't starting Wednesday against the Royals.
Hedges started the last three games and went 0-for-7 with two walks and two strikeouts. Luke Maile will take over behind the dish and bat eighth.
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Guardians' Austin Hedges: Not in lineup
Rotowire
Hedges will sit Saturday against the Royals.
Hedges has managed to start 94 games this season despite his awful .167/.241/.254 slash line, but his defense-first profile doesn't help fantasy teams. Exciting offense-first catcher prospect Bo Naylor was called up for the first time Saturday, but it will be Luke Maile who gets the nod behind the plate on this occasion.
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Guardians' Austin Hedges: Sitting Wednesday
Rotowire
Hedges is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.
Luke Maile will get a turn behind the plate after Hedges struck out twice in three plate appearances in Tuesday's 6-5 loss in 11 innings. Over his last 11 games, Hedges has gone hitless in 29 at-bats to drop his season-long average to .167.
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Guardians' Austin Hedges: Not in Friday's lineup
Rotowire
Hedges is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Rangers.
Hedges is 0-for-22 since Sept. 12 and will take a seat after he started the past three games. Luke Maile will start behind the plate and bat eighth Friday.
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Guardians' Austin Hedges: Resting Monday
Rotowire
Hedges is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Twins, Joe Noga of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Cleveland is wrapping up its five-game wraparound series with the Twins with a day game Monday, so Hedges will get a breather after he caught eight innings of Sunday's 3-0 loss. Luke Maile checks in behind the dish, forming a battery with starting pitcher Cal Quantrill.
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Guardians' Austin Hedges: Not in lineup for Game 2
Rotowire
Hedges isn't starting the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Twins.
Hedges started behind the plate during Saturday's matinee and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. Luke Maile is starting behind the dish and batting eighth during the nightcap.
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Guardians' Austin Hedges: Day off Friday
Rotowire
Hedges isn't in the lineup Friday against Minnesota.
Hedges is getting a breather after he went 0-for-6 with two strikeouts over the last two games. Luke Maile will start behind the dish and bat eighth.
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Guardians' Austin Hedges: Resting Saturday
Rotowire
Hedges isn't starting Saturday against Minnesota.
Hedges went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a strikeout during Friday's series opener against the Twins, but he'll head to the bench for the second time in the last three games. Luke Maile will take over at catcher and bat eighth.
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Guardians' Austin Hedges: Goes yard Friday
Rotowire
Hedges went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 7-6 win over the Twins.
Hedges has hit safely in three of his last four games, and he's added three RBI in that span. The catcher is up to seven homers, 26 RBI, 24 runs scored and a pair of stolen bases while slashing .189/.267/.287 through 281 plate appearances.
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Guardians' Austin Hedges: Gets Wednesday off
Rotowire
Hedges is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals, Joe Noga of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
He'll be getting some routine maintenance after catching in each of the past three games while going 2-for-7 with a walk, two RBI and a run scored. Luke Maile will be behind the plate Wednesday, forming a battery with starting pitcher Cody Morris.
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Guardians' Austin Hedges: Resting Saturday
Rotowire
Hedges isn't starting Saturday against the Mariners.
Hedges is getting a day off after he went 0-for-5 with a strikeout over his last two games. Luke Maile will start at catcher and bat eighth.
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Guardians' Austin Hedges: Retreats to bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Hedges isn't starting Wednesday against the Orioles.
Hedges has recorded hits in his last four games, going 5-for-12 with a double, two runs, a stolen base and a strikeout during that time. He'll get a breather while Luke Maile starts behind the dish and bats eighth.
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Guardians' Austin Hedges: Logs steal in loss
Rotowire
Hedges went 1-for-3 with a stolen base in Sunday's 4-0 loss to the Mariners.
Hedges singled and stole second as the Guardians attempted a rally in the sixth inning, but Mariners starter Robbie Ray was able to escape trouble. The steal was Hedges' second of the year, his most in any season since 2018. The catcher is batting .214 (9-for-42) with two doubles in August. That's a little better than his .183/.263/.277 slash line for the season through 80 contests. Luke Maile has been the better hitter of the Guardians' backstops in August, but Hedges' defense keeps him in the No. 1 role.
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Guardians' Austin Hedges: Not in Saturday's lineup
Rotowire
Hedges will sit Saturday against the Mariners.
Hedges has three hits over his last two games, equalling the number he managed over his previous 10 contests. Luke Maile will start behind the plate, catching for Zach Plesac.
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Guardians' Austin Hedges: Resting Wednesday
Rotowire
Hedges is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Padres.
Hedges returned Tuesday from a one-game absence due to a sprained ankle, starting at catcher while going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in the Guardians' 3-1 win. Though he didn't suffer any apparent setbacks with the ankle Tuesday, Hedges will get a breather nonetheless while the two teams wrap up their series with a day game after a night game. Luke Maile will draw the start behind the plate.
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Guardians' Austin Hedges: No hits in return
Rotowire
Hedges (ankle) went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Padres.
The Guardians mustered just four hits as a team, and Hedges wasn't involved on offense. He ultimately missed just two games with a right ankle sprain thanks to Sunday's rainout. The catcher is slashing .171/.255/.264 with six home runs, 23 RBI, 20 runs scored and a stolen base in 77 contests this year, and he should resume a starting role behind the dish.
