Guardians could offer the Reds their best Tyler Stephenson replacement

The Cincinnati Reds might not be able to afford Tyler Stephenson this offseason, which could end up being a massive problem for the club. The Reds will struggle to replace him in terms of finding a catcher who possesses his offensive ability while also playing acceptable defense.

However, if Cincinnati is truly ready to move on and unwilling to pony up the requisite funds to retain the 30-year-old, they might find that their in-state rival, the Cleveland Guardians, represent the best chance to find a serviceable replacement. The wild thing is that not one, but two, Guardians catchers could find themselves on the Reds' radar.

Veteran Austin Hedges has become a key leader for Cleveland, while also serving as AL Rookie of the Year candidate Parker Messick's personal catcher. Long noted for his strong defensive skills, Hedges also posted an even 100 wRC+ this season. He's going to hit free agency this winter, and with Patrick Bailey entrenched as the Guardians' starter, it's unlikely they can afford to retain him while also focusing on other needs.

If Hedges eludes the Reds or they simply decide they want to go in a different direction, there's another Cleveland backstop who could catch their eye. This time, we're diving into the Guardians' minor league system and hoping to come away with 25-year-old catcher Kody Huff.

MLB Pipeline ranks Huff as Cleveland's No. 27 prospect, and while that might not sound like much, there's a chance that he broke out in 2026. The Stanford product hit .222/.301/.330 over 101 games at Triple-A Columbus in 2025. This year, he raised that mark to .264/.375/.513, while cracking a career-best 23 dingers over 120 games at Columbus.

Huff is Rule 5 eligible this offseason and isn't on the Guardians 40-man roster. He's behind Cooper Ingle (No. 4 in Cleveland's system) in the catching pecking order. All of that makes him a prime trade candidate that the Reds could take advantage of.

These Guardians' catchers are intriguing, but the Reds must understand that they are boom-or-bust options

While the package that Hedges put forth this season — good defense and a league-average bat — looks intriguing, it's hard to ignore how much of an outlier that is based on his career. The 34-year-old is a 12-year vet, and prior to 2026 owned a career line of .185/.244/.313, which was good for a wRC+ of 50. Essentially, he's been the Ke'Bryan Hayes of catchers for the majority of his career, and it's hard to believe that a mid-30s offensive awakening is for real.

As for Huff, there's a bit more hope that his improvements at the plate are sustainable. He clearly improved his plate discipline, raising his walk rate from 9.1% in 2025 to 13.9% this season. On top of that, he cut his strikeout rate from 25.6% last year to 19.5% in 2026.

Still, performing in Triple-A is one thing, but having that success translate to the majors is another; just ask Edwin Arroyo. So while Huff would be an upside play and likely wouldn't cost much to acquire in a trade, having only Jose Trevino as a means to hedge against him flopping in the majors is a tremendous risk.

If the Reds were to go this route and acquire one of these Cleveland catchers, it could work out beautifully. However, it's even more likely that the bottom falls out completely and the club is left with a tremendous void behind the plate.

At a certain point, keeping things simple and ponying up the two years and $20-ish million that it will likely require to retain Stephenson seems like the safest course of action. Now we can only hope that Cincinnati agrees and can get a deal done.

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