Hedges went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Athletics.

EDGE Analysis

Hedges has played in just seven of the Guardians' first 21 contests. He's shared backup duties at catcher with David Fry when Bo Naylor is not playing. Hedges is hitting .120 with three RBI, one runs scored, one double and a stolen base over 26 plate appearances, which includes 10 strikeouts and no walks. As a defensive catcher, it's no surprise Hedges is not adding much with the bat.

Hedges is not in the Guardians' lineup for Friday's contest against the Athletics.

EDGE Analysis

Hedges drew the start at catcher for Opening Day, and he finished 1-for-4 with one run, one RBI and one strikeout. Lefty Bo Naylor will be behind home plate Friday and bat seventh with the Athletics starting right-hander Ross Stripling.

Hedges (undisclosed) will start at catcher and bat seventh in Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Cubs.

EDGE Analysis

Hedges was scratched ahead of Monday's game against the Dodgers after colliding with a teammate prior to the contest, but the Guardians removed him from the lineup only as a precautionary matter. With the veteran backstop apparently feeling fine two days later, he'll step back in behind the plate. Hedges is expected to serve as the Guardians' No. 2 catcher this season, with most of his starts likely to come against left-handed pitching when the lefty-hitting Bo Naylor gets days off.

Hedges was scratched from the lineup for Monday's Cactus League game against the Dodgers after colliding with a teammate during a pregame workout, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

The team relays that Hedges was scratched out of "an abundance of caution," so expect him to be fine in a day or two. David Fry will shift to catcher and Deyvison De Los Santos has entered the lineup at designated hitter.

Hedges has gone 2-for-8 with a home run, a double, two RBI and three strikeouts over four Cactus League games.

EDGE Analysis

Hedges is not guaranteed to open the season as the Guardians' backup catcher despite his $4 million salary for 2024. David Fry, who can also play first base and corner outfield, could be in line for the backup catcher role -- or offer the Guardians the choice to carry three natural backstops. Among the team's catching crew, Hedges offers the least offensive upside, as he hasn't hit better than .184 in any of the past five seasons. Bo Naylor (back) is penciled in as the Guardians' starter behind the dish.

Hedges agreed to a one-year, $4 million contract with the Guardians on Sunday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

EDGE Analysis

Hedges split last season between Pittsburgh and Texas but will make a 2024 return to Cleveland, where he made 199 appearances from 2020 to 2022. The veteran backstop brings little offensively with a .478 OPS over the past two years but provides strong defense. Hedges should fill the backup job at catcher behind youngster Bo Naylor for the Guardians.

The Pirates traded Hedges to the Rangers on Tuesday in exchange for international bonus pool money, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Hedges had limped to a .180/.237/.230 slash line across 186 plate appearances with the Pirates. He'll presumably fill in as a depth piece at catcher behind Mitch Garver until Jonah Heim (wrist) returns from the injured list.

Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton confirmed Monday that Hedges is in line to serve as the Pirates' No. 2 catcher moving forward after Endy Rodriguez was promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Though Rodriguez will ascend to the top of the depth chart following his call-up, Hedges won't be removed from the catching mix entirely. Shelton noted that he still expects Hedges to catch a couple of times per week, and the veteran is also likely to be deployed behind the dish on select occasions late in close games when defense is of greater importance. Hedges' skills as a pitch framer and game caller may be the only attributes keeping him on the Pittsburgh roster at this point; he's slashing a lowly .175/.226/.227 over 177 plate appearances on the season.

Hedges isn't in the Pirates' lineup Saturday against Arizona.

EDGE Analysis

Hedges has started to turn things around since the start of July, going 4-for-12 at the plate with two RBI and a run scored over five games. He'll get a breather Saturday while Jason Delay starts behind the dish and bats ninth.

Hedges is not in Thursday's lineup against the Dodgers.

EDGE Analysis

Hedges had started four consecutive games behind the dish, during which we went 3-for-10 with two RBI and a run scored. Jason Delay will take over at catcher and hit ninth.