Guardians Place Veteran On Injured List, Promote Minor League Catcher

The Cleveland Guardians have been busy on the transaction front over the last week, and they made another move ahead of their series opener against the Houston Astros on Friday evening.

Stephen Vogt said before the game that the team was in the process of placing Austin Hedges on the injured list with a concussion retroactive to June 5.

The two corresponding moves were placing Andrew Walters on the 60-day injured list to open up a roster spot for C Dom Nunez, whose contract Cleveland selected before the game.

We’ve got some roster moves today.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/HqCzrjcFEQ
— GuardsInsider (@GuardsInsider) June 6, 2025

Nunez will start behind the plate and hit ninth in the lineup on Friday night. He's hitting .136/.266/.369 with an OPS of .635 in 32 games at Triple-A this season.

The offense may not be there, but he's more than capable of handling a pitching staff defensively, which is what the Guardians need from their backup catcher right now.

As for Hedges, baseball isn't what's important right now. The 32-year-old has a long history of concussions, and Stephen Vogt emphasized before the game that Hedges' health is everyone's top priority.

"There's always a level of concern with any concussion, especially when it's as many as Hedgey has experienced," said Vogt.

"That's why we're being super cautious with this. This is bigger than baseball; this is bigger than winning the 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."

Hopefully, Hedges comes off the injured list healthy and doesn't feel any lingering effects from this latest concussion.

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