Dom

Nunez

Nuñez was with the Guardians last year, getting only seven at-bats with the big league club. He hit .176/.330/.349 with nine home runs in 76 games at Triple-A Columbus. He’ll continue to serve as organizational depth.

All six players have elected free agency instead of sticking around with the Guardians. No real surprises here as Cleveland clears some space on its 40-man roster heading into the offseason. Lively is the most prominent name by a considerable margin, but he’s going to miss a significant portion of next season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Nuñez is sent down, and this almost assuredly means that Austin Hedges will come off the concussion injured list before Friday’s game against the Mariners.

The 30-year-old backstop will add some depth behind the plate while Austin Hedges (concussion) is sidelined. Nuñez was having a brutal season offensively at Triple-A Columbus, slashing a pitiful .136/.266/.369 with six homers, 16 RBI and a 38/17 K/BB ratio in 125 plate appearances.

All four will stay with the Guardians through the exhibition series, and then likely report to Triple-A Columbus. In order for any of the four to play for the Guardians in 2025, they’ll need to be added to the 40-man roster.

Nuñez augments Cleveland’s organizational catching depth with another veteran presence behind Bo Naylor, Austin Hedges and David Fry heading into next season. He could factor into their plans at some point as an emergency stopgap due to injury with Fry coming off elbow surgery that is expected to prevent him from catching next year. The 29-year-old backstop has gotten into 111 games at the highest level dating back to 2019. He posted a .669 OPS with two homers in 263 plate appearances last year at Triple-A Columbus.

Nuñez, 29, will be the fourth or fifth catcher on the Guardians’ depth chart. He spent last year hitting .187/.326/.311 in 63 Triple-A games. He played in 111 games for the Rockies from 2019-22, batting .180/.280/.373.

Nuñez was released by the Cubs earlier this week and has quickly latched on with the Pirates. The 28-year-old backstop hasn’t appeared in the majors this season after getting into 111 contests for the Rockies between 2019 and 2022.

Nuñez, 27, was designated for assignment by the Giants not long after the backstop was claimed off waivers from the Rockies, and he elected free agency. He’s hit .180/.280/.373 in 347 career plate appearances, and isn’t likely to get much playing time with the Cubs even if he makes the roster.

Nuñez was designated for assignment on Monday after being claimed off waivers from Colorado the previous week. He hit .180/.280/.373 in 347 plate appearances with the Rockies over the last four seasons. He’s probably going to be viewed more as a No. 3 catcher than as a legit backup.