The Guardians introduced they’ve re-signed catcher Dom Nuñez to a minor league deal. The ALIGND Sports activities Company additionally receives an invitation to large league spring coaching with the Guards, simply as he did final offseason.
Nuñez, 30 in January, spent the 2024 season with Triple-A Columbus. He obtained into 68 video games at that degree, stepping to the plate 263 occasions. He struck out in 30% of these journeys, actually a excessive quantity, but additionally drew walks at a hefty 16% clip. That resulted in a .202/.330/.339 batting line and 81 wRC+.
The Guards by no means wanted to name Nuñez as much as the majors, utilizing Bo Naylor, Austin Hedges and David Fry to deal with the large league catching duties. Fry didn’t actually catch within the second half on account of elbow issues and that may carry over into subsequent yr. He had a hybrid/inner brace and tendon reconstruction surgical procedure in November, which is anticipated to have a 12-month restoration timetable. He’ll be capable of function the designated hitter in some unspecified time in the future subsequent yr however gained’t be a part of the catching plans.
That successfully leaves Naylor and Hedges as the 2 backstops on Cleveland’s roster, so the chances of needing to make use of a depth choice will maybe be greater subsequent yr, until they add another person to the roster later within the winter.
Nuñez didn’t make it to the majors in 2024 however does have large league expertise, getting 347 plate appearances with the Rockies from 2019 to 2022. He was punched out 34% of the time but additionally earned free passes at a 12.4% clip. Not like his 2024 season in Triple-A, the walks weren’t sufficient to bolster his total numbers to respectable ranges, so he at the moment has a profession batting line of .180/.280/.373 within the majors for a 58 wRC+. His framing acquired sturdy grades from FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus and Statcast throughout his temporary main league work in Colorado.
It’s not an amazing profile, however for a non-roster catcher, he no less than has some optimistic attributes with the power to take a stroll and body a pitch. If the Guards convey him as much as the majors at any level subsequent yr, he hasn’t but certified for arbitration and nonetheless has an choice yr, which means he’ll be low cost and supply roster flexibility.
