Austin Hedges Traded to the Rangers

The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded catcher Austin Hedges to the Texas Rangers, first reported by Mark Feinsand. The Pirates will receive international bonus pool space from the Rangers in the deal.

The Rangers suffered an injury to their catcher, Jonah Heim, and Hedges will now fill a need for them. The Pirates recently called up Endy Rodriguez to take over the starting catching duties. Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington recently said that Henry Davis would get time behind the plate after the trade deadline.

Hedges took the Pirates back to the days of pitchers hitting on offense, posting a .180 average and a .467 OPS. The Pirates valued his defensive work and leadership with the pitching…