CLEVELAND -- The Guardians placed catcher Austin Hedges on the 7-day concussion IL on Friday, and in a corresponding move selected catcher Dom Nuñez from Triple-A Columbus.
Nuñez started at catcher in Friday’s series opener against the Astros at Progressive Field. Reliever Andrew Walters was transferred to the 60-day IL to make room for him on the 40-man roster.
Hedges’ move to the injured list is retroactive to Thursday. Hedges was struck on the helmet by a Jazz Chisholm Jr. backswing on Wednesday during the first pitch closer Emmanuel Clase threw to him in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Hedges stayed in Wednesday’s game as Cleveland secured a 4-0 win over New York, but manager Stephen Vogt noted Friday that the 32-year-old began experiencing “low level concussion symptoms” on Thursday, which have not gone away.
Hedges has gone on the IL on five previous occasions in his career due to a concussion.
“There's always a level of concern with any concussion, especially when it's as many as Hedgey has experienced,” Vogt said. “So that's why we're being super cautious with this. This is bigger than baseball. This is bigger than winning a game. We have to do what's right for Austin, and we have to do what's right for him as a human -- and that's to be super cautious.
“You don't want to mess around with anything revolving around concussions, especially with his history.”
A team leader in the Guardians’ clubhouse, Hedges is having another strong season behind the plate for Cleveland. He entered Friday tied with teammate Bo Naylor and Seattle’s Cal Raleigh for eighth in Statcast’s catcher framing runs metric (2). He was tied for first in catcher caught stealing above average (4) with the Brewers’ William Contreras, the Giants’ Patrick Bailey and the Mets’ Luis Torrens.
Nuñez has spent the past two seasons with Triple-A Columbus after signing a Minor League deal with Cleveland on Jan. 30, 2024. He re-signed on Dec. 13 on another Minor League deal and was a non-roster invitee this spring.
Walters suffered a right lat strain in the ninth inning of the Guardians’ 4-1 loss to the Angels on May 30 and went on the 15-day IL last Saturday.