Guardians Trade For Catching Depth

The Cleveland Guardians had bad news for their fanbase on Tuesday morning when they placed backup catcher Austin Hedges on the seven-day concussion injured list. As a result, the team went out and added some catching depth by making a trade with the Cincinnati Reds.

Cleveland roster moves aplenty:
*Sandy Leon acquired from the Reds for cash to be backup catcher because Austin Hedges is going on the 7-day concussion IL
*RP Ian Gibaut DFA
*RP Anthony Castro recalled
*SP Konnor Pilkington is the extra man for the doubleheader; he’ll start today
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) June 28, 2022

Cleveland Guardians Trade News

The Guardians have acquired veteran catcher Sandy Leon from the Reds in exchange for cash. The 33-year-old backstop has played with four teams over 10 seasons in the Majors but has spent the 2022 campaign with Triple-A Louisville.

Leon is a more than capable backup until Hedges makes his return. The Venezuelan veteran has recorded two doubles, a home run and seven RBIs while slashing .222/.306.627 in 26 games with the Bats in the minors.

The former 2018 World Series champion has been a reliable defender throughout his career, owning a .995 fielding percentage in 3621 innings played as a catcher. Even if he rarely plays, the Guardians can rest easy knowing that he's available and waiting.

This isn't Leon's first stint with the Guardians, so it helps that there's some familiarity. He tallied a pair of HRs and four RBIs while batting .136 with Cleveland in 2020 and was also a non-roster invite to this year's Spring Training before joining the Reds.

SIGN UP NOW. Up to $1,000 in Free Bets if you don't win your first bet!. dark

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.