Guardians notes: Austin Hedges placed on concussion list; Shane Bieber shut down

CLEVELAND — There was a double dose of bad news for the Guardians prior to Friday's series opener against the Astros. Cleveland placed catcher Austin Hedges on the seven-day injured list with a concussion, while former Cy Young award winner Shane Bieber, who is trying to make it back from Tommy John surgery, has been shut down after experiencing pain in his surgically repaired right elbow. Vogt said Hedges sustained the concussion when he was hit with a bat on a backswing from the Yankees' Jazz Chisolm in the ninth inning of the Guardians' 4-0 win at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. This will be Hedge's fifth career trip to the concussion list. "There's always a level of concern with any concussion, especially when it's as many as Hedgie has experienced," Vogt said. "That's why we're being super cautious with this. This is bigger than baseball. This is bigger than winning a 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. You don't want to mess around with anything revolved around concussions and especially with his history." Though he is batting only .113 with three home runs and three RBIs in 22 games, Hedges will be missed on the field and in the clubhouse. "Hedgie is the best defensive catcher on the planet, and he's one of the best teammates I've ever seen," Vogt said. "He's a selfless person that wants to win more than anything and cares about his teammates, and he's a leader. He's a big part of our team, and obviously this is a hit to us." Vogt, a former catcher, has experience with the rigors of playing behind the plate. He said he was diagnosed with one concussion during his playing career. "You get dinged up," Vogt said. "You get hit every night. No one notices. You take foul tip after foul tip. Those add up over time. It's definitely something that's scary and it's never something that we take lightly." Vogt didn't seem overly concerned with Bieber, who made his first rehab appearance at the Arizona Complex League on May 31 and was scheduled to make another for Double-A Akron on Friday after having the outing pushed back a day. "Obviously, a little bit of a setback with shutting him down for a week, but seems to be all normal rehab from Tommy John," Vogt said. "These things happen, and so we'll reassess where we are in a week." The team announced that Bieber will be re-examined toward the middle of next week. l Vogt said outfielder Lane Thomas (plantar fasciitis right foot) has begun his running progression. "He's doing baseball activity, so he's trending in the right direction," Vogt said. The new guy To fill Hedges' roster spot, the Guardians selected the contract of Triple-A Columbus catcher Dom Nunez. The 30-year-old Nunez, a sixth-round draft pick of the Rockies in 2013, was acquired prior to last season, batting .202 with five homers and 19 RBIs in 68 games for Columbus last year. Nunez was in the lineup Friday, making his first major league appearance since 2022. He played in 111 games for Colorado from 2019-22, hitting .180 with five homers and 19 RBIs. To make for Nunez on the 40-man roster, Cleveland transferred reliever Andrew Walters (right lat strain) to the 60-day injured list. Yes way, Joses Since 2015, the Guardians' Jose Ramirez (1,574 through Thursday) and the Astros' Jose Altuve (2,294) have recorded the most hits in the majors for a single team. "These are two guys that when you look at them, you're kind of like, 'OK, unassuming,' and they can both hurt you at any given moment," Vogt said. "They're two of the best hitters that I've had the pleasure of competing against and watching. "What Jose Altuve has meant to the Houston Astros, you probably can't even put in to words. It's similar to what Jose Ramirez has meant to us." On the red-eye Both the Guardians and Astros played Thursday night and didn't get to Cleveland until early Friday morning. The Astros arrived at 4 a.m. "I thought we were going to have it bad, and then we got in from our game (in New York) and they were just starting in Pittsburgh," Vogt said. "You show up and play. You find a way you post. That's what you do." Roundin' third The Guardians are seeking their first series win over the Astros since 2017, going 13-26 against Houston over the span. l Cleveland owns the second-highest home winning percentage (.551) in the majors since 2013 behind the Yankees (.563). Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.