How the Cleveland Guardians Will Rotate Catchers in 2026 Season

The catcher position is crowded.

But unfortunately, it's not crowded in a good way.

After a somewhat disappointing 2025 season that saw countless struggles from the Cleveland Guardians at the plate, heading into the offseason, no position group was safe from changes. While none came from outside, internally, a lot of prospects are going to be given opportunities in the 2026 campaign to show what they've got and potentially make the jump to the big leagues.

The outfield is the clear-cut area where the team needs the most important, but a position group that has somewhat flown under the radar is catcher. There, the Guardians have been incredibly lackluster in the hitting department.

Combining for 191 games played, the duo of Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges sported batting averages of .195 and .161, respectively. They knocked a total of 95 hits and helped contribute 57 RBIs to the Guardians' offense.

Simply put, that's ineffective at best, and downright abysmal at worst.

The two are on opposite points in their career's, with Naylor being just 25 years old and heading into his fourth full season of major league action, while Hedges, at 32 years old, is playing a locker room leader-type role with Cleveland.

However, with prospects continuing to climb through the farm system, and the return of utility man David Fry due to injury, the coaching staff might turn to a platoon of catchers to try and figure out who the team's No. 1 option will end up being.

The Future Behind Home Plate

Naylor and Hedges will obviously be involved in the Guardians' plans in the 2026 season. They both perform well behind the plate and have great connections with the current pitching staff.

But slowly rising through the ranks is Cooper Ingle, a Triple-A catcher who has a chance at making a jump to the big leagues at some point in the upcoming season.

Over the course of three minor league seasons, Ingle has been efficient at the plate, slashing.281/.407/.442 for an OPS of .849. That's really impressive, especially for someone who seems to be flying under the radar. He's seemingly always able to find a way to get on base or make contact with the ball and put it in play.

He needs a bit more time to find consistency, but also for Cleveland's major league staff to weed out one of Naylor or Hedges. Because even with those three chomping at the bit, they also have Fry. Prior to missing out on more than half of the entire 2025 campaign due to countless injuries, he was the Guardians' third option at catcher.

Back in the 2024 campaign, he suited up for 23 games behind home plate, recording a perfect fielding percentage and not allowing any passed balls. It's not his No. 1 position, as he's also been a designated hitter, first and third baseman and outfielder, but it's an area Cleveland feels comfortable putting him at.

Statistically, Fry's also a better batter than both Naylor and Hedges, making the coaching staff more inclined to put him at catcher so that they can get a bigger bang for their buck in the lineup.

With such questions being raised about that position group, realistically, the Guardians should keep Ingle in the minors at least till the end of the season, if not longer, and give Naylor, Hedges and Fry the catcher position. Naylor should serve as the No. 1, with Hedges and Fry evenly splitting time as the No. 2. This scenario would give the 25-year-old Naylor the best chance to continue developing and trying to become more reliable at the plate, while still getting that leadership and comfortability from Hedges, and hitting consistency from Fry.

A first glance at what the coaching staff plans to do will come on Saturday, Feb. 21, as the Guardians kick off spring training against the Cincinnati Reds. First pitch between the two sides is set for 3:05 p.m. EST from Goodyear Ballpark in Arizona.