One of the vacancies that the Cleveland Guardians have as they finalize their Opening Day roster is who will be the backup catcher for Mike Zunino .
The Bo Naylor era is coming, but not just yet. The Guardians assigned him to Triple-A Columbus where he'll start the season with the Clippers. Naylor may see some time up with the Big League club, but not immediately.
This leaves a position up for grabs and this spot is likely to be filled by Cam Gallagher .
The Guardians are looking for one thing from their second-string catcher, defense. This may worry fans considering the lack of offensive production the Guardians got from their catchers in 2023. But this time around it will be different.
Zunino should offer the offense a much-needed boost at the plate when he's in the game. He's looked healthy so far in Spring Training so there's no reason to believe that he won't get the normal starting time.
Plus, it wouldn't be surprising to see Naylor get the call-up if Zunino does suffer an injury that keeps him out long-term.
Gallagher's role will be to step in if something were to happen to Zunino mid-game and start a game behind the plate here and there during the first part of the season.
The classic backup gig.
The 30-year-old will be entering his seventh MLB season and he spent the first six with the Kansas City Royals. Over those six seasons, Gallagher slashed .240/.302/.355. So Gallagher definitely won't be a liability when he's in games. However, he has struggled quite a bit with the paint during Spring Training.
While this has not been confirmed by Terry Francona just yet, it doesn't make the most sense. If Gallagher isn't the backup catcher, the Guardians have a few other options.
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