CLEVELAND, Ohio — A seismic shift is coming to Major League Baseball in 2026, and few players will feel the tremors more intensely than Guardians catcher Austin Hedges. The Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) challenge system — baseball’s version of robot umpires — threatens to render obsolete the very skill that has kept Hedges employed despite his anemic offensive numbers.
“He’s going to be one of a sort of a dying breed with the advent of ABs,” explained Joe Noga on the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. “Teams aren’t going to be looking much for catchers with that pitch framing ability that Hedgy has developed and perfected over the years. They’re going to need offensive players at the catching position and that’s going to be the premium now.”
For Hedges, who just secured another $4 million contract with Cleveland through 2026, the timing couldn’t be more significant. The veteran backstop has built his career on defensive excellence — particularly his ability to “steal” strikes through expert pitch framing. That skill has allowed teams to overlook his lifetime .185 batting average and 43 strikeouts in just 180 plate appearances last season.
But what happens when technology strips away that competitive advantage?
“When we talk to him about the ABS system, he was, he did not seem to be a fan,” cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes revealed on the podcast. “He was very skeptical. He said he wanted to see it in action. A lot of offensively challenged catchers feel the same way.”
It’s easy to understand Hedges’ skepticism. The ABS system fundamentally changes the economics of the catching position. For decades, teams have valued defensive wizardry behind the plate, with offense considered a luxury. But when technology standardizes the strike zone, suddenly those hard-earned framing skills become irrelevant, and the bat-first catchers gain tremendous value.
This transition could have made Cleveland’s decision to re-sign Hedges puzzling, but both Noga and Hoynes identified a potential silver lining. While the ABS system eliminates the art of stealing strikes, it introduces a new strategic element that could still reward baseball intelligence.
“That’s sort of the flip side of a guy with Hedges’ veteran savvy and his knowledge of the strike zone,” Noga pointed out. “He’s going to be able to identify and challenge for strikes in favor of his pitchers more so than having strikes challenged against his pitchers and losing those.”
In essence, the challenge system might transform elite framers like Hedges from artists into strategists. Instead of subtly manipulating umpire perception, they’ll need to master when and how to challenge calls within the new system.
This technological revolution makes Hedges’ 2026 contract year particularly fascinating. Will his defensive acumen translate to the ABS era? Can his offensive game evolve to match changing position demands? Or is baseball witnessing the twilight of the defense-first catcher?
September offered a glimmer of hope when Hedges hit .267 with two home runs in his final 12 games. Perhaps when freed from focusing so intently on defensive metrics, players like Hedges can channel more energy into offensive improvement.
As baseball’s technological revolution unfolds, Austin Hedges stands at the crossroads — the last of a dying breed facing extinction or evolution. The Guardians are betting $4 million that he can adapt rather than disappear.
Curious about how this technological revolution will transform baseball’s most tradition-bound position? Listen to the full Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast episode with Joe Noga and Paul Hoynes for deeper insights into how the ABS system will reshape the game.
Podcast transcript
Joe Noga: Welcome back to the Cleveland Baseball Talk Podcast. I’m Joe Noga, joined by Paul Hoynes Hoynse. The Guardians make some news late Tuesday night. Word breaking that the Guardians and Austin Hedges in agreement on another four, another $4 million contract plus incentives for the 2026 season. It’ll be the what, the third year in a row Hedgy will, will play on a $4 million deal to come back and, and play for the Guardians and, and really provide the sort of clubhouse leadership and defensive sort of brilliance that he does. Austin Hedge is not really the, the guy that you look to, to produce a lot at the plate, but every other aspect of the game he’s, he’s one of the best in the league. Just what do you think of the decision to bring Austin Hedges back and, and what’s it say for the Guardians in terms of their, their catcher’s room for next season?
Paul Hoynes: I guess it was a no brainer, right? I don’t, I don’t think it was an interesting move. I think it was a no brainer. Basically. We probably knew, you know, as we walked out of the clubhouse after, you know, the game three loss in the wild card series that this was going to happen. And as, as last year, it happened quickly. The postseason isn’t even over and Hedges is coming back. I think that’s a good sign for the Guardians, a good sign for the, you know, for the locker room. And yeah, the catching situation is of just what we thought it would be. A lot depends on how David Fry comes back from his elbow surgery and then the facial surgery that he had after getting hit by the pitch from Tarek Skubal. But it looks like that catch, the catchers are going to be what, Bo Nailer, Hedges and Fry, hopefully, based on how he bounces back from those, from that elbow surgery especially.
Joe Noga: Yeah, I’m seeing a lot of chatter about, you know, the prospect Cooper Engel right now. I believe at the end of the season he made it up to AAA for a few games at least. But this is a kid who really has the hit tool and the ability to produce offensively. And now with the ABS challenge system coming in next year, that adds a whole nother layer to this, this sort of story. But Austin Hedges, he’s, he’s going to be one of a sort of a dying breed, I guess with the, with the advent of ABs and you know, and we, we talked to him about this during the season when, when they announced that ABS would definitely be coming in 2026. The teams aren’t going to be looking much for pitchers with that, that catch framing ability that Hedgy has developed and perfected over the years. They’re, they’re going to need offensive players at the catching position and that’s going to be the premium now. So a guy like Cooper Engle is coming to take head Austin Hedges job eventually. But the Guardians saw fit to pay $4 million for a catcher who has a lifetime.185 batting average and last season struck out 43 times in 180 plate appearances. Just the idea that Hedgy is, is sort of the last of a dying breed here. What do you make of that?
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, when we talk to him about the ABS system, he was, he did not seem to be a fan, Joe. I mean, he was very skeptical. He said he wanted to see it in action. You know, I think a lot of catchers feel the same way. A lot of probably offensively challenged catchers feel the same way. They’ve worked all their career on the, you know, the, the art of catching, framing pitches, blocking balls in the dirt, working with the starting staff and the bullpen. And now, you know, they’re, you know, the challenge system comes in the ball and strike system comes in and you know, you can’t, you, you aren’t, you’re not going to be able to steal as many strikes if you’re a good, you know, catcher who can frame a pitch. But I think this is probably the best of two worlds because they, they could have gone with the total ABS system where it was just totally robot umpires, but now they, at least you can challenge and the catcher, the hitter and the pitcher are the only ones that can challenge. So even Hedges can challenge if he needs to.
Joe Noga: And I think that’s sort of the flip side of a guy with, you know, Hedges veteran savvy and his knowledge of the strike zone. He’s going to be able to strikes in favor of his pitchers more so than, you know, having strikes challenged against his pitchers and losing those and, you know, teams valuing a catcher that can, can hit over that, he’s still going to have an impact on this club one way or another, whether it’s behind the plate, whether it’s improving what he’s able to do at the plate. We saw him over the final month of the season. There was an uptick in his batting average. I mean, he put 30 points on his batting average in the, in the month of September in, in 12 games. He did hit.267 over the final month of the season with a couple of home runs, three RBIs, four walks and five strikeouts in September last year. So I think when these guys don’t have to worry about all the other aspects of being a catcher in the major leagues and can just focus on hitting, they’re still major league hitters. They can still put the bat on the ball. And Hedges, you know, proved that he’s, he does have some value in that regard.
Paul Hoynes: You know, this is a guy that’s hit, you know, double digits in home runs previously in his career. He hit five this year. Maybe this will take the ABs, will take a little pressure off him and let him concentrate more on hitting. But I think, you know, this guy’s always going to be known as a defensive catcher, Joe. He’s always, always going to be known as kind of the, the leader in the clubhouse. A good young players come to in the clubhouse, and it’s interesting that they bring him back. You know, I’ve seen this before. Mike Napoli was a kind of clubhouse guy that they brought in in 2016. And then, you know, when they get to the World Series and they go through all that, you know, they don’t bring him back. The reason for that was, you know, the club, you know, grew up, you know, it matured. It didn’t need that kind of clubhouse presence. But, you know, I think with Hedges is just such a different personality that I really think he’s ingrained himself with this team and they know his value in that clubhouse, in the dugout, when he’s playing, when he’s not playing. You know, this guy is always the same. He’s always upbeat. I think he’s always, you know, got that positive mojo going. And, you know, for, with a young team like the Guardians have been the young, you know, one of the youngest teams in baseball for the last three or four years, you know, that, that, that counts for something.
Joe Noga: Yeah, they, they need his presence. In terms of, just like you wrote about, when the younger players would finish an, an interview with the, the media, they’d go over and they check with, with Hedgy to make sure that they said the right thing. I don’t want to say that’s, that’s like power or influence, but that’s, that’s presence. That’s, you know, they want to make sure that they’re doing the right thing. And if you want to make sure you’re, you’re behaving the way that a big leaguer is supposed to behave, you look to a guy like that, I go back to. They pop bottles after clinching the Playoffs and clinching the division and the guy in the center of the room, the guy leading the sort of hooting and hollering is, is Austin Hedges. He’s the one who hands out the belt to the best player in that game or that particular dates. There’s, there’s a lot of value in that. I don’t know if it’s, it’s $4 million worth of value. And, and my question was why didn’t they just sign the guy to a three year, $12 million deal before the, the, the, the what? The 2024 season or 2023 season or if, if they could, I guess after this season. You know, Hedges is coming in at the sort of the end of his career. This ABS system is coming in and it’s sort of the backside of his career. What It’ll be his 12th season, I guess. You know, he’s sort of like I said, the last of that dying breed. But you know, he’s, he’s sort of coming along, this is sort of coming along at the right time in Austin Hedges career where he can sort of gracefully transition. If he is going to be on the bench somewhere, if he is going to envision a career managing or coaching somewhere someday, that this is sort of a, a help in that transition.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, no doubt about it. And Joe, you know, you know, managers, every manager you’ve dealt with, every manager I’ve dealt with, offense is like the, the second, you know, offense is icing on the cake for a catcher. They want a guy that can run the run the pitchers that can, you know, play good, you know, catches well behind the plate, ABS or no abs, that can control the running game that, you know, every manager I’ve covered that defense comes first with at the catching position. If you get, if you get a guy that can hit as well, so much the better. But you’ve got to play defense. That’s the, you know, the best part of Hedge’s game. So I think there’s always going to be a place for him as long as physically he can handle it. Right now what is he, he turned 33 in August. So you know, he’s getting up there but he’s not playing every day either, Joe. So you know, who knows how long edges could play.
Joe Noga: Yeah, he, if it means a $4 million contract every year, I, I could get my body into shape and ready to handle what, 60 to, to 70 games a year. It’s a great little spot for him. I, I guess. And the other, the other aspect to this is he loves Cleveland he, he feels at home in Cleveland. He feels a part of this organization. If you ask him, that’s what he’ll tell you. He’ll, he’ll say, you know, I’m a Cleveland guy through and through, obviously, you know, born and raised in Southern California. But he really does feel a part of this organization and a part of this city. You know, we’ve, we’ve talked here about how Carl Willis and whether or not he comes back, how important that is to, to this pitching staff. I think it’s also sort of key to maintain some continuity with Austin Hedges because of the value that he brings to guys like Tanner Bybey, Gavin Williams, Slade Saccony, even Joey Cantillo and Parker Messick. These are all guys who are going to feel like they’ve got a security blanket with, when they’re game planning each game day to day with Austin Hedges sitting in that clubhouse putting together the, the, the charts for each game, no doubt about it.
Paul Hoynes: And he’s got a relationship with all these pitchers. You know, him and Bo Naylor and David Fry. They know this pitching staff. Even the young guys that came up this year, you know, I think, you know, that’s a solid group right there. You know, offensively, you know, we’ll have to see. You’d like to, like to see, you know, more of what Bo Naylor showed in late August and September. You know, is that the real Bo Naylor? But you know, we’ve been teased before with bow. But you know what you’re getting in Hedges, you know what you’re getting, you know, just from the defensive side of it. Anything you get on the offensive side is, is gravy. And what he does in the clubhouse, you can’t put a price tag on that, Joe. I don’t think.
Joe Noga: No. And, and that’s, it’s good, stable sort of foundation. I think in your offseason you’re building or rebuilding that and you start with a good foundational block in Austin Hedges, just like we did last year at this time and looking forward to having a, a zoom conference call with him here coming up later on today. And we’ll, we’ll definitely report back on any news from that as, as we talk about Austin Hedges. So in the same breath as we’re talking about Austin Hedges coming back, we, we have to mention that the Guardians coaching staff loses sort of the first big loss for the, the Guardians this, this off season. Kai Correa, who, who had served as the major league field coordinator and run game and defense sort of instructor, he’s heading to the Mets. It was announced there, it was indicated that they’re going to hire Correa to be their bench coach. That’s the same position that he served for three seasons in San Francisco under Gabe Kapler. At the end, when Kapler was fired, Correa served three games as the interim manager in San Francisco before joining Steven Vogt’s staff. You know, we’ll talk about the, the dynamic there and how it was in Cleveland with, with Correa and Craig Albernaz and Stephen Vogt. Sort of what the hierarchy was, this move for Correa to, to take the job in New York. Is that any indication on, on how hot the, the seat is under Carlos Mendoza heading into the 2026 season?
Paul Hoynes: Oh, you know, that, that’s a good point, Joe. I mean, I don’t know. I mean obviously the Mets were really a disappointment, you know, with a huge salary, all those, those great players they have on the roster not to make the, not to make the postseason. But what that was Mendoza’s first year and until they kind of went into a tailspin. Or was it the second year? Second year. Right, second year, yeah, because he was, he was with Vote. They, he and he kind of interviewed in Cleveland. That’s right. You know, I think, you know, I thought Mendoza drew good, good reviews his first year. They kind of had a weird year this past, this season. We’ll have to see. But you know, obviously when you bring in a new bench coach, that, that’s, that’s the guy that’s, you know, one seat away from becoming the next manager. I, you know, I would think Mendoza is probably maybe kind of looking over his shoulder, you know, and especially, especially.
Joe Noga: A bench coach with Correa’s resume. You, you’re going to look at that and say, well, he’s not necessarily a manager in waiting, but that’s where his career trajectory is taking him.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, when you’re the bench coach, you’re that your next job is a manager. That’s, you know, that’s the step, the pecking order that, that usually works with coaches. Yeah. So interesting, an interesting move, surprising move. I thought Correa was, I thought he was a hard working guy, Joe. Smart baseball guy. When you talk to him, you know, he, he, he, he. I thought he did a great job with the defense, but he had the longest title of any coach I’ve ever, I’ve ever had seen, Joe. His, his title was field coordinator slash director of defense, baserunning and game strategy. That’s a mouthful. So I don’t know. He must have got either the better title or more. More money to be all those things with Cleveland. So an interesting title, but we wish him well. I think it’s wonder. What do you think? Do you do the guardians replace him on the coaching staff?
Joe Noga: I think that depends on what, what happens with Craig Alburnez and whether or not he, you know, gets a managerial job somewhere else, which is a strong possibility, I think. But if Albert has his back, then I think he stays as the associate manager, slash bench coach, which is really sort of by default what he was. If, if anybody who was around the team knows that, you know, it, it went vote and then Albert’s and then Correa in terms of the pecking order, but it did. That doesn’t take away from what Correa did in terms of the game strategy and, you know, from at bat to at bat or timing on certain plays and things like that. He was instrumental and always in Vote’s ear. And like you mentioned, if you saw the dugout, you saw Albanez sitting directly next to Vogt at all times, you know, Correa was right there and having conversations. And Stephen Vogt will tell you they didn’t always agree on things. You know, that that was sort of what made things work for them or has made things work over the last two seasons was that sort of ability to bounce ideas off of each other and see what works. I think Correa was a big part of that and that’s what the Mets are going to value here. You know, he’s not coming in as a handpicked guy for Carlos Mendoza, so there’s going to be some disagreement in game and during strategy sessions. And I think that’s, that’s probably something that the Mets are looking forward to and want to have because things did not go well for them this past season. And I believe John Gibbons is the guy who’s. He’s replacing Gibbons, a former manager himself in Toronto. So, yeah, a lot of, you know, sort of, you can tell that the, the Mets value Korea’s, you know, baseball acumen. They know that he’s a guy who knows the game and knows strategy and, and we’re going to see that, you know, probably play out with the Mets next season. My question is just like you, you asked, you know, who replaces him or who replaces that. That. And I think it really does depend on what happens with Craig Albernaz.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, definitely. We’ve seen Albert Nez’s name connected with the vacancy and in the managerial Vacancy and in the Giants and Correa and Albert has came to Cleveland from the Giants organization. So you know he, and you know, he got some, there was some interest in him last year from Miami and the White Sox. So yeah, I think, you know, when you’re successful, when you’re part of a successful winning coaching staff and you play a big role on that staff, you’re definitely going to get interest. And there’s what, eight teams looking for managers right now, Joe.
Joe Noga: So yeah, something like that.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah. So the market, it’s a, what, what do they say? It’s a buyer’s market? No. Seller’s market. Right. I’m not sure how that works.
Joe Noga: Well, and like last year, you know, Albert has, could, could choose to be a little more selective because he knew he could come back to Cleveland and you know, and, and be successful there and sort of improve his value in that regard. And, and I’m, I’m sure same with Correa. I’m sure Correa could have had his of different, you know, bench coaching roles or other roles within other organizations last offseason, but they chose to come back to Cleveland and I think that paid off because, you know, who’s, who’s not going to look at what the Guardians did this season and give a lot of credit to the coaching staff for that 15 and a half game turnaround and that ultimately the comeback to win the, the division there, that a lot of credit goes to the, the coaching staff and that can only enhance your desirability by the other, you know, 29 teams in the league. As far as picking and choosing what situation, I mean obviously you, if you’re stepping into a team that’s, that’s struggling, let’s say like the, the Rockies would offer you the, the chance to be their manager, would you choose that or would you choose to maybe go back to Baltimore or like you said, San Francisco, places that’s either close to your hometown or where you’ve had experience in the past and where they’re familiar with you. I think there’s a lot of options there if you’re Craig Alburnez. So yeah, the things that make that make these, these coaches desirable to the teams are, you know, when they’re, they’re able to have those success like they did with this second year Guardians team under Steven Vogt. I think there’s a lot of options out there for Alvareness. Correa obviously, like you said, must have gotten an offer that was tremendous to, to be able to go out to New York and work there. So we’ll see how things shake out as far as next season goes.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, and you know, the Mets are really reworking that whole coaching staff. Our buddy Mike Sarbaugh, the third base coach, got let go. They, you know, they dismissed the pitching coach to hit two of the hitting coaches, Eric Chavez among among them. Yeah, they’re looking, they’re looking to upgrade the coaching staff, Joe, and trying to, I mean, I don’t know if Steve Cohen can, can spend much more money on that payroll.
Joe Noga: Yeah, it’s, there are these issues that you can throw money at and expect them to all go away at the end. But, but Kai Correa brings, you know, the, the, not just the, the wealth of, of knowledge and the innovation in terms of his coaching strategies and drills and things. You know, this is a guy who, you know, when we first heard of Kai Correa and what he was doing out in with the Giants and when he was a college coach and a minor league coach, he would film his drills and put them on, on YouTube or on TikTok. And you know, it really resonated with some of the younger players. And we saw some of that when he came to Cleveland. You know, it was the first time we had seen the, the little red machine come out and be part of the pre game activities. You’d be, be standing out in front of the dugout pregame, on the road or at home, and all of a sudden there’s this little, little red plastic machine on a tripod that was shooting ground balls at the infielders. And they’re playing, they’re, they’re, they’re feeling these ground balls with the stubby short mitts and different things and you know, they’re on one knee and taking ground balls in different ways. I really remind, reminds you of the way Ron Washington sort of revolutionized pregame work for a lot of teams that he played that he was the infield coach on. Just, you know, a different way of looking at things. Some, something we had never seen before. What was your reaction when you first saw that little red machine that Correa would, would wheel out there and plug in every day?
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, I was wondering what the, what is that, Joe? And I was wondering how fast they’d shoot those balls out. But you know, they were different balls. I think they were a little softer than a regular baseball, but yeah, it was cool and they did it every day, man. The Guardians infielders really worked hard on it. I remember watching Daniel Schneemann, Daniel Sneeman would be Standing on one leg, you know, kind of bent over and fielding ground balls, like leaning, leaning, you know, toward the glove side, fielding, you know, one hoppers out of the machine. And I asked him what does that drill too? I, you know, he was like, you know, like he was like a gymnast. And he said, well, that, that helps when I’m playing second base and I’m, you know, and I’ve got a lean, old lean for a ball hitting the hole or die for a ball hitting the hole. Well, that helps in that regard. And you know, that was Ty’s strategy. So he’s very innovative and he came up with, with the Guardians through their minor league system the first time before they hired him, the second time to be on the big league staff. So he knew Rocchio and I think he knew areas. He knew a lot of the young infielders that have worked their way up to Cleveland.
Joe Noga: Yeah, 2018 and 2019 he spent with the Arizona Complex League team and you know, working out there in spring training. So he had seen a lot of these guys, was reunited with them as well. Yeah, the, the strategies and the, the drills and the innovation, that was all part of what makes Kai Correa attractive. And it paid off in the numbers you could see over the last two seasons. You know, last year the Guardians were second in the league in terms of defensive runs saved a total. This year they were seventh still, you know, top third of the league. Very good. So their, their infield numbers were really positive, especially at different positions. And, and that’s all due to the willingness, like you said every day for Kai Correa to go out there and work with these guys and, and, and don’t take away from anything that, you know, Rugal so door obviously the, the infield coach as well. The two of them worked sort of hand in hand, hand in glove together to, to sort of make those improvements. So, you know, wish Kai Correa the best. This is a guy with an upward trajectory. Wouldn’t be surprised in a couple of seasons to see him be among the top managerial candidates for any openings over the next few years. And you know, maybe he gets that opportunity at some point next year if Mendoza and things don’t go well for the Mets, especially starting off, you know, early in the season if they’re, if they struggle. So keep an eye on that as we do as well. Just looking at one other bit of news that we have to mention. The Major League Baseball Players association announced the finalists for its 2025 Players Choice Awards. Obviously, Aaron Judge, Shohei ohtani Kell, Raleigh. Among the the top finalists for some of these awards, those three are finalists for the MLB Players Association, a Player’s Choice Player of the Year award. However, the Guardians have a candidate for the Outstanding Player award in the American League. The finalists are Junior Caminero, Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Bobby Witt Jr. And Jose Ramirez. Not a surprise there to see Jose’s name listed among the finalists for Outstanding Player in the American League. I think the odds are against him in terms of winning that award with Judge and Raleigh both in the in the mix. But what do you think of Jose Ramirez being named a finalist for outstanding Player?
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, that’s not, not surprised, Joe. Like you said, you know, he really deserves it, but he’s in a tough, tough category with so many other great players. But it I, you know, I’m glad Jose was mentioned. You know, this has been a well rounded season for Jose, but I don’t think it’s, it’s been his best. But still, you know, the impact he has day to day on, on the Guardians and their lineup, you know, can’t be overstated. And this is a nice honor.
Joe Noga: Yeah. Finalists in the American League for the Outstanding Pitcher award, Garrett Crochet, Brian Wu and Tarek Skubal. Outstanding rookie finalists in the American League, Noah Cameron, Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson. And comeback player finalists Jacob deGrom, Trevor Story and Javi Baez. So, you know, a couple of interesting category is an interesting finalist in the awards there. What do you think, what do you think of the pitching award, Tarik School? Do you think he did enough at the end of the season there to warrant another outstanding pitcher award?
Paul Hoynes: There’s some tough pitchers in there, but yeah, I think Skubal, we saw a lot of them, Joe, and he looked like the best pitcher in baseball right there. I mean, you maybe score one run off him if you’re lucky and he’s when he hikes the ball through his legs. But that is, you know, that’s Cy Young. That looks like a Cy Young winner to me. A repeat Cy Young winner.
Joe Noga: And the rookie finalists, I think all three of them outstanding. But Nick Kurtz really sort of distinguished himself. 4 home run game and just the slugging that he was able to do. His teammate, Jacob Wilson was the all star starter at shortstop, which is crazy, but I think Kurt’s probably the head and shoulders favorite there to win that rookie award.
Paul Hoynes: No doubt about it, Joe. And just think of the three teams, including Cleveland, that picked in front of him. He was what, the fourth overall pick in 2000 two years ago. They’ve got to be scratching their heads. The Guardian and the Guardians are one of them. After taking Travis Pizzana with the first overall pick. I mean, I don’t know, Joe, that’s, I mean, they, I mean, I think in Cleveland’s executive offices, they are praying that Travis Pizzada gets to the big leagues next year and makes an impact.
Joe Noga: Yeah. And, but again, when you’re picking, if you’re Cleveland in that position, you had young Kyle Manzardo there and which you were hoping in that position, so I can understand why they went in a different direction. But interesting. And finally, that comeback Player of the Year award, I don’t know. Javi Baez, Jacob deGrom, Trevor Story. I think deGrom, just, just by virtue of him being healthy and, and able to be back out on the field, might be the guy. But Baez is the one that I scratch my head about just because he’s not a good shortstop, he’s not a great player at that position, and he winds up in the, the starting outfielder in for the All Star Game. Just a crazy season for Javi Baez. But you can’t argue with the results for the, the Detroit Tigers.
Paul Hoynes: Yeah, and he had a great postseason, too, Joe. I mean, he really, I mean, he hurt Cleveland several times and, you know, the veteran kind of hit her and he, you know, he came through at the right times. Yeah, that’s going to be interesting to see who. And you know, Trevor’s story. What he’d been heard for a couple years with Boston and had a big year for the Red Sox.
Joe Noga: All right, Hoynsy, that’s going to wrap up today’s edition of the Cleveland Baseball Talk podcast. We’ll check back after we talk to Hedgy this afternoon and we’ll see what he has to say and we’ll talk about it on tomorrow’s show.
Paul Hoynes: Good deal.
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