The Rangers are acquiring catcher Austin Hedges from the Pirates, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (Twitter link). They’ll send international bonus space to the Pirates in return, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
Texas has received excellent production from catcher Jonah Heim this year, but Heim was recently diagnosed with a wrist injury that’ll cost him at least a few weeks. Hedges can team with Mitch Garver to provide the Rangers with an elite defensive option behind the plate, though he’s also one of the lightest-hitting players in the game at present. Surgery hasn’t been ruled out for Heim, and if that ultimately ends up proving necessary, the addition of some depth behind the dish will prove all the more important.
Hedges, 31 next month, signed a one-year, $5MM deal with the Pirates in the offseason. He’s turned in just a .180/.237/.230 slash line — disastrous even by his standards — but has continued to rate as the sport’s premier pitch framer and one of its top four pitch blockers, per Statcast. Defensive Runs Saved pegs him at a hefty +8 this season despite logging just 507 innings behind the plate so far. Hedges’ 14% caught-stealing rate is a career-worst mark for him, but he owns a career 28% mark in that regard. As far as defensive-minded backstops go, he’s arguably the best in the game.
Whether that offsets his utter lack of offense is up for debate, but the Rangers clearly felt him a worthwhile addition. Garver figures to see the bulk of the time behind the plate, but Hedges makes for a quality backup who has a reputation for working well with pitchers and prepping as a game-planner.
The Pirates, with top catching prospects Henry Davis and Endy Rodriguez both in the Major Leagues, simply didn’t have at-bats for Hedges anymore. Both young backstops have recently raved about the influence Hedges had on them in their short time together, and his departure will now create further opportunities for that pair to continue their development at the MLB level. There’s a chance Hedges might’ve been simply designated for assignment had the Pirates not found a taker for him, so getting even a nominal return in the form of some additional space in their international free agent pool isn’t too bad an outcome.
Wow
couldn’t agree more
Noooo he’s ass. You couldn’t get anything better than him???
Exactly what went through my mind. Wow.
Well…he can catch.
And that’s it. Doesn’t do anything else. Well he can bunt.
@yourdream
Yeah he plays the game well… until you ask him to actually get on base..
Yup. I agree.
I’ve caught Covid 5 times, am I qualified?
This is a favour to hedges
Favor to Nutting if they are taking his salary.
Sounds like his salary is nutting to worry about.
took longer than expected for me to notice someone saying anything about nutting being cheap.
Boo! They got cash from the Cards and then wasted it like this??? They need bullpen arms, not bullpen catchers. CY must have misheard his advisors.
guess you missed the spot where we needed an insurance option incase Heim has season ending surgery
Garver and Huff plus a million defense-only catchers on the waiver wire
Think of it this way, DeGrom
You didn’t get Reynolds. Or Cutch. Or Keller. But you finally got a Pirate. Congrats
Keller… yet
Keller nope!
other than his salary they didn’t give up any cash. they just sent bonus pool for the international draft which just allows the Pirates to spend more, not actual cash. Basically they got a great defensive catcher for almost nothing assuming they were not going to spend on the draft.
Oof… scares me even more for Heim.
i’m surprised that guy is still in mlb.
defense wins championships. One of the best defensive catchers in MLB
Best framer at least.
Supposedly pitchers have loved him everywhere he has been.
And that said, it’s an art that with this current crop of umpires, pays dividends. I’ve never seen worse balls and strikes umpiring than this season. And framers are stealing a lot of strikes.
So they threw Sam Huff under the bus again? I don’t get it. Dude can mash.
He can on occasion mash one. The rest of the time he is going to strikeout on low breaking balls away haha
Huff is inconsistent at the plate at best and way less productive defensively compared to Hedges.
Love when people say Huff can mash. Lets me know they dont watch much baseball.
it’s crazy how many ppl who claim to know about baseball don’t understand the value of a good sound defensive catcher
lmao why?
Good move. Not sexy, but in tight playoff game having a good framer important. Hopefully this is insurance, and maybe he’s personal catcher for Scherzer or Montgomery, and not surgery needed for Heim.
Framing is a myth. Bad umpiring is real.
I was thinking more in terms of how pitchers have really liked him everywhere he’s been. Giving a pitcher confidence that the catcher will make it look good can be a boost and lower some nerves. Not magic, but every bit helps.
If you get Angel Hernandez not even the most savvy catcher can help any though it’s true.
Wait till Ranger fans get a load of that ‘legendary defensive ability” of Hedges, lol.
Rangers pitching just got a little better.
I’m happy so I don’t have to hear Pirates “fans” boo the guy anymore.
Like we get it guys…he can’t hit. How many times do you want to say it?
The amount of stupid fans who complain about backup catchers batting average is insane. It’s embarrassing
We were spoiled by Chris Stewart. He had zip for power, but at least he could advance runners. A great hit-and-run guy.
Honestly felt bad for him for that reason. Every player who’s been teammates with him has never said a single bad thing about him. Pitchers love him, and he’s a fantastic defender. Hope he enjoys Texas.
Said this on another thread but the guy exuded being a team player. Whether he was in the lineup or not, the guy was a positive individual.
Jason Delay is being promoted and Hayes will be activated tomorrow from the IL
My grandmother hits better than this guy. Bat the pitcher use the DH for hedges.
Who doesn’t, though?
Not hedges. Just said that above. Keep up.
What are you trying to say?
The Bucs didn’t sign Hedges last winter for his offense
He got that memo and ran with it.
Pirates fans bid farewell to the 2020s Rod Barajas
A +++++++++++ for PIT. Dump salary and sign some prospects.
C for TEX. Pitchers love him. Rated as best framer. Doesn’t hit at all. Can bunt. Doesn’t throw great. Blocks good.
International bonus pool money that they won’t spend.
moving him gives more flexibility with the line up. Derek will probably still mess it up… but more choices.
Return isn’t bad either. would’ve liked more of course.. but.. . .. well yeah. the Bonus space is better than a AA depth player though depending on the market i suppose.
I guess they did find a team to buy him a plane ride out of town. His defense has been overrated all season. He might be able to frame, but he leads the league in catchers interference. He doesn’t throw well, and he couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat. Not sure how he’s still in the league.
This makes me sad. Rangers had no interest in Higgy on the Yankees
THIS JUST IN !
Rangers win the trade deadline.
Go get em Boch !
Hedges walk up song is “Fat Bottomed Girls”. That is all.
Hedges being called fat is like Volebach being called skinny
Very good Queen song lol.
I think that the Pirates not only did well at the deadline, but their trades also speak favorably of how they did in the last off-season. Four of the five who were traded were brought in last off season. The four contributed to developing the team and its younger players and now the Pirates receive some long term assets with their departure. The Pirates are playing interesting ball again even when they lose unlike May and June. Hopefully this translates into a better 2024 record.