Fansided

Guardians offseason predictions: 3 players Cleveland should already be targeting

By Noah Yingling

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 21: Joc Pederson #23 of the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium on July 21, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 21: Joc Pederson #23 of the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium on July 21, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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Christian Vazquez, Astros, Guardians
HOUSTON, TEXAS – AUGUST 01: Christian Vazquez #9 of the Houston Astros against the Boston Red Sox at Minute Maid Park on August 01, 2022 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

2) Catcher Christian Vázquez

Like most teams, the Guardians have struggled to get any offensive production out of their catching position. While the Guardians have received good defense at the catching position with Austin Hedges, it’s a great area for the Guardians to make an upgrade offensively… and still keep the good defense. Christian Vázquez would be a perfect fit for that.

On the season, Vázquez has split the season between the Red Sox and Astros, and he has hit .278/.321/.422 with an OPS+ of 104. He also has 7 DRS at catcher this year but is slightly below league average at pitch framing (-1 Catcher Framing Runs).

For comparison on the season, Austin Hedges is hitting .175/.251/.270 with an OPS+ of 54. He has 6 DRS and 3 CFR. Vázquez will be 32 in less than two weeks, so he will not require a massive contract on the free agent market, but Cleveland can still upgrade there — even if they want to keep Hedges (who is also a free agent) in the fold.

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