The Mariners recalled catcher Mike Zunino from Class AAA Tacoma on Thursday. He'll take the place of Steve Clevenger, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list after suffering a broken hand in Wednesday night's loss.
Mike Zunino’s eventual return to the big leagues from his season of development would be dictated by two things – readiness and need.
In the end, need won out and his readiness will be determined.
With back-up catcher Steve Clevenger suffering a fractured hand in Wednesday night’s game and a stint on the disabled list obviously necessary, the Mariners recalled Zunino from the Rainiers to serve as back-up to Chris Iannetta.
There were other options – adding Rob Brantly to the 40-man roster and bringing him up, recalling Steve Baron, who is on the 40-man, from Class AA Jackson – but they were far from ideal in terms of production and practicality.
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Zunino was the obvious choice given his success this season with the Rainiers and his proven ability to handle and excel with the defensive responsibilities of the position at the Major League level.
“I knew he would be back at some point,” manager Scott Servais said. “I didn’t know if it would be June 1st, July 1st or August 1st. Sometimes the situations and circumstances dictate that. It’s kind of what happened here. But he’s earned it. He’s made some adjustments. He’s made strides. He still does a great job behind the plate.”
Zunino was hitting .282 (70-for-248) with an .882 OPS, including 13 doubles, 15 homers and 51 RBI in 69 games. After a torrid start where he hit .397 with seven doubles, eight homers and 24 RBI in his first 21 games. Zunino struggled in May, hitting .171 from May 2 to June 13, but has picked it up recently. In his last 14 games, he’s hitting .358 with a double, two homers and 10 RBI.
“Mike’s obviously has Major League experience with our club,” Servais said. “There was a plan put in place this offseason and throughout spring training to give him the opportunity to regroup and go to Triple A and work on some things. He got off to a great start down there. I’ve talked to Pat Listach and Scott Brosius quite a bit about Mike and it’s been better. The at-bats have been better. He’s been a productive hitter and controlled the strikezone better. He was the guy to go to.”
Zunino will get more playing time than Clevenger, who was getting to start about once a week. Chris Iannetta ranks second in innings caught in the American League.
“We’ll get him in there,” Servais said. “He’s going to play more than once a week. There’s no doubt, just looking at our schedule and looking at our day games and how it matches up there. There will plenty of opportunity for him.”
It was Zunino’s hitting that put him in Class AAA this season. The one-time catcher of the future was rushed to the big leagues by former general manager Jack Zduriencik in 2012 with less than 500 minor league plate appearances. Zunino’s defense and understanding of how to handle a pitching staff kept him in the big leagues. He was the opening day starter in 2014 and 2015, despite his struggles with his approach and strikeouts.
There was some hope he had figured things out with a solid spring training before the 2015 season. But Zunino started off the season slow and never recovered. Still, with no viable replacement, the Mariners were forced to play him almost daily as he tried to work through the struggles. There was no turnaround. He hit .174 with a .570 OPS in 112 games, including 132 strikeouts in 186 plate appearances. He was optioned to Tacoma on the day Zduriencik was fired and never returned to the big leauges.
When general manager Jerry Dipoto was hired, his plan was to acquire enough catching at the big league level to allow Zunino to have a developmental year in the minor leagues. Zunino went to an early hitting summit in January and has tried to stick with one swing and one approach since then instead of being overloaded by suggestions from a number of different voices in the organization.
“I feel like I’ve definitely grown and I’ve definitely learned a lot of things about myself as a player and a hitter,” he said. “It tests you a person too. I’ve learned to break things down and view them for what they are. I would get too wrapped up in things. For me, right now, it’s just taking it for what it is, breaking it down and fixing the problem.”
Clevenger met with a hand specialist on Thurday, but he said he will likely have surgery on the hand to set the bone properly instead of trying to cast it. He hopes to return before the season ends. The recovery would be about eight weeks.
The Mariners also swapped out relievers, recalling Tom Wilhelmsen from Class AAA Tacoma and optioning Roach to Tacoma. Wilhelmsen made two appearances for Tacoma, throwing three innings and allowing one run. Roach was roughed up in his one inning of work on Wednesday night, giving up three runs. Roach made three relief appearances for Seattle and had a 10.80 ERA.
“His velocity came up in his last outing,” Servais said of Wilhelmsen. “He was very sharp. He threw two innings and needed just 16 pitches. He’s got his confidence back and maybe not overanalyzing things too much.”