On the same day when the Cleveland Guardians announced the hiring of Stephen Vogt as their 45th manager in franchise history, the team has now also made multiple roster transactions.
Tonight, Cleveland announced via X that they have designated veteran catcher Cam Gallagher for assignment.
This move comes just hours after the Guardians announced that they claimed veteran catcher Christian Bethancourt from the Tampa Bay Rays.
Cleveland originally signed Gallagher to a Minor League contract this past January. He then made the team’s Opening Day roster in late March.
In his previous six seasons with the Guardians’ AL Central rival Kansas City Royals, the 30-year-old hit .240 with seven home runs, 39 RBI, 27 doubles, and a .656 OPS.
This season, Gallagher hit a career-worst .126 with 18 hits, seven RBI, six doubles, and a career-worst .322 OPS in 56 games for Cleveland this year. Defensively, he caught nine of 54 (16.7%) baserunners stealing with two passed balls in 420.1 innings behind the plate.
At the moment, it appears that the newly-acquired Bethancourt may take Gallagher’s place as the Guardians’ backup catcher. Catcher-turned-utilityman David Fry is now the only other catcher behind Bo Naylor on the team’s 40-man roster.
In terms of roster transactions, Cleveland has been busy over the past four days.
This past Thursday, the Guardians claimed first baseman and outfielder Alfonso Rivas from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The following day, they selected organizational top-30 prospect Johnathan Rodríguez to their 40-man roster.
Gallagher’s designation for assignment continues Cleveland’s steady dose of changes from last season, as it is set to begin a new era of Guardians Baseball in 2024.
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