The Pittsburgh Pirates dipped into the free agent pool once again, signing Austin Hedges to a one year, $5 million contract, making him in all likelihood the starting catcher heading into 2023.
There isn’t much to say about him offensively, as he has never been that great of a hitter in the majors. He did hit seven home runs in just under 300 at-bats, which isn’t bad considering Pirates’ catchers hit just nine collectively over the course of the 2022 season.
Offense isn’t what he is here for, as his value comes from his work behind the plate, where he is one of the better defensive catchers in the game right now.