Zunino announced his retirement from professional baseball Wednesday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Zunino will turn 33 years old later this month, but he struggled mightily in 2023 following a return from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, slashing .177/.271/.306 with a 44 percent strikeout rate for the Guardians before being released in June. The 11-year veteran will retire with 149 career home runs and one All-Star Game appearance.
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Mike Zunino: Released by Guardians
Rotowire
The Guardians released Zunino on Wednesday.
Zunino was designated for assignment Friday to open the door for top prospect Bo Naylor to become Cleveland's primary catcher. Now, Zunino will look to latch on with another club after slashing .177/.271/.306 through 140 plate appearances in the majors this season.
The Guardians designated Zunino for assignment Friday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Zunino has been ice cold at the plate recently, slashing just .095/.174/.095 since the beginning of June. His release leaves Cam Gallagher and David Fry as the catching options on the big-league roster, but top prospect Bo Naylor is waiting in the wings. Touki Toussaint was called up from Triple-A Columbus in a corresponding move.
Zunino isn't in the Guardians' lineup Thursday against the Padres.
Zunino has't recorded a hit since June 7, so the Guardians will send out David Fry to serve as their backstop for Thursday's series finale in San Diego.
Zunino will take a seat for a second straight game after he went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts and a walk while starting the first two contests of the Guardians' three-game series with Houston. Cam Gallagher will draw a second consecutive start behind the plate and bat ninth in the series opener with San Diego.
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Guardians' Mike Zunino: Resting Sunday
Rotowire
Zunino is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.
Zunino will get some maintenance Sunday after he caught the first two games of the series while going 0-for-5 with a walk and three strikeouts. Cam Gallagher will catch for starting pitcher Shane Bieber in the finale with Houston.
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Guardians' Mike Zunino: On bench Sunday
Rotowire
Zunino is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Twins.
Zunino and Cam Gallagher have alternated starts behind the plate over Cleveland's past 11 games, and that trend will continue Sunday after Zunino went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Saturday's victory.
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Guardians' Mike Zunino: Not starting Friday
Rotowire
Zunino isn't in the Guardians' lineup Friday against Minnesota, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
Zunino has been alternating starts with Cam Gallagher since May 23, so his absence from Friday's lineup is likely due to it simply being Gallagher's turn. Zunino's .635 OPS on the year is poor, but it's nearly double Gallagher's .323 mark.
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Guardians' Mike Zunino: On bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Zunino will sit Wednesday versus Baltimore.
Zunino will take a seat after he went 0-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and a strikeout in Tuesday's 8-5 loss. Cam Gallagher will replace him behind the plate and bat ninth in the series finale with the Orioles.
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Guardians' Mike Zunino: Sitting Monday
Rotowire
Zunino is out of the lineup Monday versus Baltimore.
Zunino will head to the bench after he went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a strikeout in Sunday's 4-3 walk-off win over the Cardinals. The catcher has now recorded six hits over his last 15 at-bats after he went hitless over his previous 27 opportunities. Cam Gallagher will replace him behind the plate and bat ninth in the series opener against the Orioles.
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Guardians' Mike Zunino: Breather Saturday
Rotowire
Zunino is not in the starting lineup Saturday versus the Cardinals.
Zunino will get a breather after he went 2-for-3 with a run scored in Friday's series opener. After the catcher went hitless for his first 27 at-bats in May, he's secured at least one base knock in three of the last four contests, batting .333 with a homer, two RBI and two runs scored over that stretch. Cam Gallagher will take over behind the plate and bat ninth against St. Louis.
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Guardians' Mike Zunino: Homers in Monday's win
Rotowire
Zunino went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Monday's 3-0 win over the White Sox.
After beginning May in an 0-for-27 funk, Zunino has hit safely in each of the last two games. His homer provided the Guardians with some breathing room in Monday's low-scoring win, and it was one of the team's four hits. The catcher has a paltry .178/.282/.356 slash line with three long balls, nine RBI, eight runs scored and seven doubles through 31 contests. Zunino can chip in some power hitting, but he'll always be an anchor on batting average. With Cam Gallagher also having a rough May, Zunino should maintain a starting role behind the dish.
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Guardians' Mike Zunino: Sits Wednesday
Rotowire
Zunino is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the White Sox.
Zunino will give way to Cam Gallagher behind the dish Wednesday after starting at catcher in both of the first two games of the series. The 32-year-old backstop went 0-for-4 with a pair of punchouts in Tuesday's 4-2 loss, bringing his batting average down to .170 and his strikeout rate up to a career-worst 44.9 percent for the season.
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Guardians' Mike Zunino: Not starting Game 2
Rotowire
Zunino is out of the lineup for Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader against the Mets.
Zunino started behind the plate in the matinee and went 1-for-2, recording his first hit through 12 games in May. Cam Gallagher will catch for Shane Bieber in the nightcap.
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Guardians' Mike Zunino: Sitting out Thursday
Rotowire
Zunino is not in the Guardians' lineup for Thursday's tilt against the White Sox.
Zunino is 0-for-27 with 21 strikeouts and one walk so far in May, which is quite the drought even for him. Cam Gallagher -- who is also hitless in 15 at-bats this month -- will do the catching Thursday.
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Guardians' Mike Zunino: Out with neck issue
Rotowire
Zunino (neck stiffness) is out of Saturday's lineup against the Angels.
He was scratched from Friday's lineup due to the neck issue and will need at least one more day to right. Cam Gallagher is starting behind the dish and batting ninth.
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Guardians' Mike Zunino: Good to go Sunday
Rotowire
Zunino (neck) will start at catcher and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Angels.
Zunino was out of the lineup for the past two days due to a tight neck, but he showed enough improvement overnight to check back into the starting nine for the series finale. The 32-year-old backstop is slashing .179/.297/.346 with two home runs, seven runs and seven RBI through 26 games in his first season in Cleveland.
