The World Series may still be going on, but the offseason has already started for the Milwaukee Brewers. David Stearns has stepped down as President of Baseball Operations and Matt Arnold has taken over, though he has kept his title of General Manager. Arnold has already made a few minor transactions, including re-signing first baseman Jon Singleton to a minor league contract. Arnold has also re-signed pitcher JC Mejia, who will compete for a roll in the bullpen in 2023. While there will surely be many, many more moves this offseason, one position sticks out as a huge question mark: what will Arnold do with the catcher position? Omar Narvaez is a free agent and, frankly, should not be re-signed. However, there is not much out there in terms of quality free agent catchers. Therefore, do not be surprised if the Brewers sign catcher Mike Zunino.
Mike Zunino Has Some Pop in His Bat
The Milwaukee Brewers has an awful offense in 2022. While Willy Adames and Rowdy Tellez each hit over 30 home runs, there was very little to be excited about whenever a Brewers hitter came to plate. Garrett Mitchell hitting .311/.379/.459 was a late-season treat, but the offense drastically underperformed in 2022. For this reason, among others, free agent Mike Zunino may be a target of the Brewers front office.
Zunino is a ten-year MLB veteran who has played with the Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays. He has hit 20 or more home runs in four of his ten seasons. His best season was 2021 when he hit .216/.301/.559 with 33 home runs and 62 RBI. Zunino was an All-Star that year and finished 20th in AL MVP voting.
What Would Make Mike Zunino a Classic Brewers Signing?
Mike Zunino’s slash line from 2021 may look very appealing to Brewers’ fans, especially the .860 OPS. Here is the thing, though: Zunino is a .200/.271/.410 career hitter (career OPS of .681). Sure, he has had some stellar seasons; but in other years he has struggled mightily.
For instance, last season (in 36 games), Zunino hit .148/.195/.304 with five home runs and 16 RBI. Additionally, he has only had an OPS above .669 just three times in his career (2016, 2017, 2021).
Now, why would the Brewers sign him? In short, it is the kind of the deal that the Brewers organization has become known for. David Stearns and Mark Attansio love(d) to take a flyer on unproductive players whose numbers had declined even further in the hopes that they would catch lightning in a bottle. What I mean by this is that they would be able to squeeze one more productive year out of said players for cheap.
Examples of players like this include: Narvaez, Tellez, Eric Thames, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Josh Lindblom. Of course, these have been successful a handful times, but have also failed on other occasions.
An Injury-Shortened Season in 2022
It should be noted that Zunino is coming off of an injury-shortened season in 2022. After reporting a tingling sensation in his left arm, Zunino had to have surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, or TOS. Per the Mayo Clinic, this is a disorder in which the nerves and blood vessels between one’s collarbone and first rib become compressed. This disorder could very well explain why Zunino’s offensive numbers took a dive below his career averages in 2022.
What Will Mike Zunino Cost the Brewers?
As alluded to earlier, the Brewers are cheap and are not going to pay top dollar for anyone. In fact, even Zunino may be too expensive for them. He made $7 million last year with the Tampa Bay Rays, and Spotrac has his market value at approximately $9.6 million. If Zunino does not find a team quickly this offseason, he may take less than his market value to find a team before Spring Training. In addition, his injury last year may also affect what teams are willing to spend on him.
The Brewers paid Omar Narvaez $5 million last year. It would not be all too surprising to see them spend a similar figure on Zunino.
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