Offense has not usually been part of the package when it comes to Cleveland’s catchers, but the Guardians are getting more than they expected from that spot right now.
Austin Hedges delivered again on Friday night against the Miami Marlins. In the fifth inning, he worked his way on with a single to center field, then later scored on a sacrifice fly. It was his sixth hit in nine games, and that run wound up being the difference in Cleveland’s 3-2 win over the National League club.
Hedges’ bat has been the bigger surprise, and the numbers back it up. With two games left before the All-Star break, he is hitting .289/.348/.414. If that .762 OPS holds, it would be the best mark of his 11-season career.
Patrick Bailey has also given the Guardians a lift after coming over in a trade from the San Francisco Giants. His season line sat at a .396 OPS before the deal, but that number has climbed to .608 since joining Cleveland.
The pair fits what the Guardians want from the position: defense, game management and run prevention. That part has not changed. What has changed is the production at the plate, and over the past six weeks it has become a real bonus for Cleveland.
Since June 1, Guardians catchers have combined to hit .300/.342/.445, good for a 122 wRC+ that ranks seventh in baseball over that span. Since the start of July, they have been even hotter, putting up a 219 wRC+, the best in MLB. Earlier this week against the Minnesota Twins, Bailey added to the surge with a towering homer to deep right field that came off the bat at 103.1 mph and traveled an estimated 384 feet.
In Other News...
Guardians Suddenly Have A First Base Decision Fans Cant Ignore
Ralphy Velazquez keeps making the Guardians take notice, and the timing could hardly be better for a club still sorting out first base. The 21-year-old, drafted 23rd overall in 2023, has been productive across two minor league levels and is carrying an .876 OPS, a strong enough line to keep him in the conversation as the season moves toward its stretch run.
Velazquez has also reached base in 30 straight games for Columbus, a run that only adds to the pressure on the front office to decide whether the organization wants to lean into its own prospect or look outside for help. Cleveland has already been weighing first base as a spot that could use a boost, and the next few weeks may determine whether the answer comes from within the system or from a move at the deadline. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Trade Deadline Focus May Be Bigger Than Fans Expected
The Guardians have steadied themselves with consecutive wins and are still very much in the AL Central race, but the trade deadline picture around them is starting to look broader than a simple bench tweak. With the offense short-handed and the lineup not getting enough from the first-base spot, the front office is being linked to a right-handed bat there, along with help on the pitching side as the club tries to keep pace in a tight division.
What makes this more interesting is how many different lanes Cleveland could explore if it decides to be aggressive. The injuries that have thinned out the offense have pushed the Guardians toward a search that could touch both the lineup and the staff, and the deadline conversation now sounds less like a luxury-shopping list and more like a response to how fragile the roster has become. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Fans Just Got Another Reason To Revisit The Bailey Trade
The Patrick Bailey deal is still one of those trades that looks a little different every time Cleveland checks back on it. The Guardians sent pitching prospect Matt Wilkinson and their Competitive Balance Round A draft pick to San Francisco to bring in Bailey, a move that was always going to be judged on whether the catcher could give the staff steadier work behind the plate.
So far, Bailey has done the part Cleveland needed most, giving the pitching staff a more dependable defensive presence while Wilkinson has kept moving through Double-A and Triple-A with uneven results. The draft pick the Giants received also adds another layer to the deal, since it turned into a high school left-hander in the first round, giving both sides something tangible to point to as the trade continues to age. [Read more 🡒]