PHOENIX — With a series of roster moves Friday, the Guardians more or less admitted defeat in one of their high-profile offseason signings.
The club has designated catcher Mike Zunino for assignment, likely ending his Cleveland career after 42 tumultuous games. However, star prospect Bo Naylor was not called up to replace him, with at least one of the reasons being an injury to pitcher Triston McKenzie.
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According to The Athletic's Zach Meisel, McKenzie has been scratched from his scheduled start tonight against the Arizona Diamondbacks due to "right elbow discomfort." To temporarily take his place, the Guards called up journeyman right-hander Touki Toussaint and added him to the 40-man roster.
The Guardians re-tweeted Meisel's original post to confirm the news. Cody Morris, who is normally a starter but appeared in two of the last three games out of the bullpen, was optioned to Triple-A Columbus.
Cleveland originally signed Zunino to a one-year, $6 million contract this past offseason, hoping the former All-Star who had four times hit at least 20 home runs could provide some much-needed pop behind the plate. That did not come to pass, as the 32-year-old batted a miniscule .177 with only three home runs and a .306 slugging percentage.
To make matters worse, Zunino's normally solid defense was a disaster, with a caught-stealing rate of only 17%, nine defensive runs allowed, and an MLB-leading five passed balls. Overall, baseball reference puts his wins above replacement at -0.9, making him one of the worst players in baseball regardless of position.
For now, veteran backup Cam Gallagher and rookie David Fry will handle the catching duties, but Meisel reports Naylor will be called up on Saturday. The young catcher was removed from the lineup prior to Friday's Clippers game.
The organization now has a week to either trade Zunino, release him, or put him on waivers, and while he could technically accept an outright to the minors like Zach Plesac recently did, such a move would be highly unlikely.
Removing Zunino from the 40-man roster was needed in order to add Toussaint, who across 57 career big league appearances (23 starts) is 10-7 with a 5.34 ERA. In 37 2/3 innings for the Clippers this season, he sports a 4.06 ERA while striking out 48 batters.
The Guardians did not indicate how long McKenzie — who missed the first two months of the year with a strained right shoulder — might be out for. The team was forced to send down Morris due to an MLB rule capping pitching staffs at 13, but it also means Cleveland will have just three position players on its bench Friday.
