‘I want to finish my career in Cleveland’: Clubhouse leader Hedges returns to Guards – WFIN

CLEVELAND — Beloved Guardians catcher and team leader Austin Hedges is sticking around. The Guardians on Wednesday reached a one-year contract with Hedges. Terms of the deal were not announced by the club, but MLB Network insider Jon Heyman reported the contract is worth $4 million plus $500,000 in incentives. Hedges was one of three Guardians players who was set to become a free agent this offseason, along with outfielder Lane Thomas and reliever Jakob Junis. Instead, the 33-year-old backstop will return for a sixth season in Cleveland. While Bo Naylor has emerged as the Guardians’ starting catcher, Hedges has remained a key cog to the team’s success behind the plate and inside a clubhouse full of many up-and-coming players. The Guardians once were 15 1/2 games out of first place in the AL Central this summer. They went on to make a historic comeback to clinch their second consecutive division title, and folks around the team continually pointed to Hedges as a stabilizing presence in the room. “He’s always talking in the dugout. He’s talking with the starters who aren’t pitching,” manager Stephen Vogt said of Hedges last month. “He’s talking with the other hitters. He’s actively engaged in
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