CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – To say the catching situation for the Cleveland Guardians is less than ideal would be an understatement.
Mike Zunino and Cam Gallagher continue to struggle miserably at the plate and neither one has distinguished themselves defensively on a consistent enough basis to justify maintaining the status quo.
“Obviously we all recognize that it hasn’t been ideal with how things have played out so far with our catchers, but I give both Cam and Z a ton of credit for the work that they continue to put in to find a way,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said. “Cam had a decent weekend, actually a road trip where he not only contributed offensively but made some key plays defensively. We’re seeing some signs with Z that he might be heading in the right direction, but it’s been a tough few weeks.”
Zunino is hitting .172 in 30 games with nine extra base hits and seven RBI. In 18 games Gallagher has bumped his average up to .100with four RBI.
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Those of you hoping that top prospect Bo Naylor, who was the 27th man in Sunday’s doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Mets, will get an opportunity to come save the day are going to be sorely disappointed.
“I don't think we really look at it as ready because development continues no matter where a guy is,” Antonetti said. “I think what we look at is what is our major league situation, what is our need? And then is the player ready or in a position to come up and contribute in a positive way and help us win games?”
Naylor, who went 0-2 at the plate in the Game 1 loss to the Mets, is hitting .257 for Columbus with nine home runs, 32 RBI and 29 runs scored but Antonetti is counting on Zunino and Gallagher.
“I think we're hopeful that we can continue to get better as Bo is developing in AAA,” Antonetti said. “We hopefully can continue to get better with the results up here with Z and Cam. And again, both of them continue to put in the work to try to make that happen.”
Wake up bats – The Guardians entered Monday’s game hovering near the bottom in most hitting categories – tied for 25th in average, 28th in runs and hits as well as 30th in home runs, RBI and slugging percentage.
Coming off a 1-5 road trip with a 9-13 record this season in one-run games and a 7-21 mark when they score three or fewer runs, it would be understandable if frustration was setting in.
“I hate losing, so it’s not been fun going through what we've gone through over the last few weeks, but that’s consistent with everybody in the major league environment,” Antonetti said. “So I think what we’re focused on is those emotions don't really help us. They’re not productive. We need to make sure we're doing what we can to help guys get better and improve the outcomes. And we’ve got an extraordinary group with Tito and our coaching staff and the group supporting them that are doing everything they can to help make it better.”
McKenzie close – Starter Tristan McKenzie was in the Guardians clubhouse prior to Monday’s game and he’ll be heading back to Columbus this week after a successful rehab outing Saturday at Triple-A.
McKenzie threw three scoreless innings where he allowed two hits and struck out four Saturday for the Clippers.
“Tristan was on a great path really until that last start where he just felt that discomfort,” Antonetti said. “We were expecting him to start the year and pick up where he left off last year, but he had a bit of, had the injury, but now hopefully he’s cleared that and can have the type of impact we were expecting back in spring.”
McKenzie, who is eligible to come off the 60-day injured list later this week, will throw “four innings or 60, 65 pitches somewhere in that range,” this Thursday Antonetti said.
Filling in – Antonetti praised the efforts of the three young starters – Tanner Bibee, Peyton Battenfield and Logan Allen – who have had to come up and fill in the rotation the first two months of the season.
“Tanner and Logan in particular, both pitched really well,” Antonetti said. “Peyton filled in and made some quality starts for us along the way too. But it's exciting to think about not just the lift that they've provided our team, but you know how they can continue to impact us for not only balance of this season, but for years to come.”
Battenfield was recently put on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.
Roster moves – The Guardians called up Hunter Gaddis from Columbus to start Monday night’s opener against the White Sox. The team also optioned left-hander Tim Herron and returned Naylor to Columbus.
Browns first pitchers – Three Browns are slated to throw out first pitches during this homestand for the Guardians starting with cornerback Greg Newsome II Monday evening.
Safety Juan Thornhill will throw out Tuesday’s first pitch and linebacker Anthony Walker will throw one out Saturday.