Unselfish Mike Zunino wants to help Bo Naylor grow as Guardians catcher | Jeff Schudel

Newest Guardians player Mike Zunino was a rookie catcher with Seattle 10 years ago, and like many first-year players, even those with high expectations, he was swimming upstream against a strong current.

Zunino, a first-round draft pick by the Mariners in 2012 (third overall) from the University of Florida, made his Major League debut with the Mariners on June 13, 2013. One day later, the Mariners signed Henry Blanco, a 41-year-old catcher who four days earlier was released by the Toronto Blue Jays. Blanco played with 10 teams over 14 seasons before signing with Seattle.

The Mariners didn’t sign Blanco to be their everyday catcher. They signed him to mentor Zunino. Zunino, 31 years old, wants to help Guardians rookie catcher Bo Naylor the way Blanco helped him. Zunino signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Guardians on Dec. 15.

“I would do it with how veteran catchers have helped me in the past,” Zunino said on a Zoom call. “Just be an open book. I mean, it’s a position where it’s few and far between when a guy gets the opportunity to pass down some knowledge.”

The Indians selected Naylor with the 29th pick of the first round in 2018 out of St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga, Canada. Naylor, 22, made his debut with the Guardians on Oct. 1 of 2022. He went hitless in eight at-bats over five games and struck out five times. He caught a total of 14 innings over four games and threw out one of three base stealers.

“I just want to help him grow,” Zunino continued. “I want to be a mentor to him. I’m looking forward to meeting him. I’m gonna speak to him, hopefully before spring training and just start that relationship.

“I’ve had some great catchers in my career, I want to pass on what they know, their knowledge, a little bit of those little things that can help you over the edge, help build relationships with pitchers.”

Unlike Blanco, Zunino is not at the end of his career. Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti expects Zunino to catch more games than Naylor will in 2023. In fact, there is no guarantee Naylor will be on the 26-man roster when the Guardians break training camp in March. The Gs would rather Naylor get playing time with Triple-A Columbus than play only occasionally with the big-league club.

“The important thing is we wanted to be able to make those determinations with Bo based upon what was best for him and based on what was best for the team and not have the circumstances force that as best we can,” Antonetti said. “We thought we’d be best served by bringing in some additional options at the catching position, and that way Bo can continue to develop and when there’s an opportunity for him and we think it’s in his best interest and the best interest of the team for him to come to the major league level, we can make a determination then, based on that criteria rather than some other factors.

“But to be really clear, we are excited about Bo Naylor’s future and what we think he can continue to develop into.”

Zunino hit 33 home runs with the Rays in 2021. He missed most of last season with the Rays because of a nerve-related injury to his left (non-throwing) arm that required surgery to repair. Thirty-three home runs would have led the Guardians in that department in 2022. Jose Ramirez had a team-high 29 homers.

“I’ve progressed into a normal offseason routine,” Zunino said. “Progressed into hitting off a tee. I haven’t hit live-arm as in BP or velo machine, but I’m continuing to try to make reps as important as possible. Only playing 30 games last year, I want to get the rest of my body up to speed with where I want to be, too.

“There’s a lot that goes into swings, whether it’s obliques, whether it’s a bunch of things. So, building some reps when I challenge myself and get to that point, I’ll be good to go. I’ve been symptom-free and gaining strength. Mobility has been great.”

The one-year deal is a “prove it” contract for Zunino. He can cash in as a free agent next offseason if he proves himself in 2023.

“We think Mike’s a great complement to our team,” Antonetti said. “He’s renowned as a really good defensive catcher who does an extraordinary job leading a pitching staff, which we’ve shared is a real priority for us. We also think he has the ability to contribute offensively as an All-Star in the 2021 season.

“We’re hopeful that Mike can absorb the bulk of the innings behind the plate, but it is an area where we’ll continue to look at additional external options to see if it makes sense to bring anyone else in. But we do expect Mike to be able to catch regularly for us.”

Zunino caught 109 games for Tampa Bay in 2021.

• Blanco, 51, has turned helping catchers grow into a career. He was hired as a coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training in 2014. In November 2014 he was hired as a quality control coach with the Cubs, where he won a World Series ring in 2016 (at the expense of the Indians).

Dave Martinez was the bench coach for the Cubs in 2016. He was hired to manage the Washington Nationals in 2017. Martinez hired Blanco as his bullpen coach. Blanco presently is the catching and strategy coach for the Nationals. In other words, Naylor will get a good education if Zunino passes on to him what Zunino learned from Blanco.

I didn’t know that

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