Texas Rangers Trade for Pirates Catcher Austin Hedges

Hedges has served as one of the top defensive catchers in the game since 2015 with the San Diego Padres.

With the future of Jonah Heim in limbo, the Texas Rangers are making sure to fortify the catcher position in hopes of a World Series push. 

Texas traded for Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Austin Hedges on Tuesday prior to the final whistle of the trade deadline, according to reports. In return, the Rangers will send Pittsburgh international bonus pool money for the future. 

Hedges, 30, has been known for being one of the game's better defensive catchers, but has never found a consistent swing at the plate. This season, he's posted a line of .180/.237/.230 to go along with one home run and 14 RBI. 

Hedges has posted a career line of .189/.247/.323 dating back to 2015. After a two-year stay with the Cleveland Guardians, Hedges signed a one-year deal with the NL Central franchise worth $5 million. 

The Rangers are acquiring C Austin Hedges from the Pirates, per source.

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) August 1, 2023

But again, Hedges has been a consistent manager behind the plate with a Gold Glove-caliber arm. He has career tallies of 83 defensive runs saved and a grade of 77.3 from the FanGraphs framing metric.

Pittsburgh (47-58) seemed ready to move off Hedges with the promotions of former No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis and top catching prospect Endy Rodríguez. Davis primarily has played right field and designated hitter this season due to the blocking of the veteran working in reps with Rodríguez. 

Heim was placed on the 10-day injured list last month after suffering a strained tendon in his left wrist against AL West rival Houston. The initial prognosis seemed promising, but the 28-year-old backstop admitted that surgery was on the table and could be a potential option, thus sidelining him for the remainder of the year. 

Garnering his first All-Star nod, Heim was slashing .280/.337/.479 in 90 games at catcher and designated hitter before landing on the IL. He posted a career-best .890 OPS and 14 home runs to match his 70 RBI. 

Mitch Garver has been the primary catcher since Heim's injury, with former Top 100 prospect Sam Huff mixing in days behind the plate. Garver, a former Sliver Slugger winner with the Minnesota Twins in 2019, went 2-of-9 at the plate in the three-game series against the San Diego Padres with two walks and five strikeouts. 

Texas continues to add more names to the roster in hopes of winning the AL West title for the first time since 2016. The Rangers acquired New York Mets starter Max Scherzer, St. Louis Cardinals starter Jordan Montgomery and reliever Chris Stratton over the weekend. 

The Rangers kick off a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday at Globe Life Field. Hedges could be available to catch as soon as Wednesday.

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