The first season of ABS challenges gave the Guardians a new wrinkle behind the plate, and Patrick Bailey made himself one of the busiest catchers in the sport with the system.
Cleveland already entered the year with a reputation for strong work at catcher, and the midseason addition of Bailey only deepened that advantage. By the time the final numbers were in, Bailey had climbed all the way to second in MLB in ABS challenges, trailing only Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras.
“Most ABS Challenges By A Catcher (2026 Regular Season and Postseason): William Contreras, 214; Patrick Bailey, 150,” Codify posted.
Most ABS Challenges By A Catcher
(2026 Regular Season and Postseason):
William Contreras, 214 😮
Patrick Bailey, 150
Tyler Stephenson, 136
Austin Wells, 135
Victor Caratini, 127
Joe Mack, 118
Keibert Ruiz, 118
Hunter Goodman, 113
Nick Fortes, 112 https://t.co/RtHspa99Hy
- Codify (@CodifyBaseball) October 27, 2026
Bailey was not just active; he was effective. The ABS Challenge Dashboard shows he requested a challenge 135 times in the regular season and got the call overturned 56 percent of the time. Contreras finished with a 58 percent success rate on 185 regular-season challenges, while Austin Hedges checked in at 51 percent on 73 challenges.
For Cleveland as a whole, the results were mixed. On defense, meaning pitcher or catcher challenges, the Guardians succeeded 44 percent of the time, which placed them 27th among 30 teams.
On offense, they were also at 44 percent, good for 26th. Steven Kwan stood out as their best regular hitter in the system, with a 56 percent success rate.
The postseason brought a sharper split. With Bailey handling most of the catching, Cleveland was successful on defensive challenges just 35 percent of the time, ahead of only the Chicago Cubs at 33 percent. But the offense flipped the script, with the Guardians winning 88 percent of their challenges, second only to the San Diego Padres.
Across the league, the regular season produced 10,557 attempted ABS challenges. Of those, 5,686 ball-strike calls were overturned, a 54 percent rate. Defensive teams were successful 58 percent of the time, while batters got their challenges right at a 49 percent clip.
Bailey’s willingness to lean into the system gave Cleveland plenty of action with ABS, and the Guardians will hope that edge keeps paying off over time.
In Other News...
Guardians Get A Big Defensive Honor As Kwans Run Suddenly Stops
Tanner Bibees season had its rough patches, but his work on the mound still earned him a major piece of hardware. The Cleveland right-hander won the American League Rawlings Gold Glove Award for best defensive pitcher, the first Gold Glove of his career and the first by a Cleveland pitcher since 2022, a fitting nod to the kind of athleticism and fielding instincts that can get overlooked when the focus is usually on wins and losses.
The bigger surprise around the Guardians came with Steven Kwan, whose run of four straight Gold Gloves came to an end this year. Kwan was again among the finalists, but this time the award went to Ceddanne Rafaela, leaving Cleveland without one of its most familiar defensive honors even as Bibee gave the club another reason to celebrate its glove work. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Alex Cobb Trade Just Took Another Painful Turn
When the Guardians dealt Nate Furman and Jacob Bresnahan to San Francisco for Alex Cobb, the move was supposed to bring Cleveland a veteran arm for the stretch run. Cobb instead managed only 23 innings because of a hip injury, leaving the trade looking thin for the Guardians and putting the focus on what they gave up to get him.
Furman has since moved on again, with the Giants sending him to Washington as part of their roster cutdown process. The infielder has built a solid minor league resume and now has a chance to fight for a utility job with the Nationals, who are carrying a crowded 40-man roster and will have to sort out where he fits. [Read more 🡒]
Guardians Offseason Roster Squeeze Is About To Force Tough Calls
The Guardians have already started trimming and reshaping their 40-man roster, and the next few weeks figure to get even busier. After letting pitcher Shawn Armstrong test free agency and adding prospect Milan Tolentino, Cleveland is sitting with four open spots, a little breathing room that may not last long once the front office begins protecting players from the Rule 5 Draft.
Several prospects are expected to be added, and the club may need to clear additional room through trades or outrights to make it all fit. The real pressure point arrives with the non-tender deadline on November 20, when Cleveland could be forced into some difficult decisions as it tries to balance immediate roster needs with long-term depth. [Read more 🡒]