Guardians Address Position Of Need With Recent Minor League Signing

The Cleveland Guardians signed Dom Nunez to a Minor League contract for the 2025 season.

Mar 27, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; A Columbus Clippers hat sits on the dugout railing during practice at Huntington Park. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians have been involved in some major moves this offseason. However, the minor ones still have weight throughout the organization.

On Monday afternoon, the front office made one of those small moves by signing C Dom Nunez to a minor league contract for the 2025 season with an invite to Major League Spring Training.

The Guardians today re-signed C Dom Nuñez to a 2025 Minor League contract. Once again contains an invite to ML Spring Training Camp. Spent the '24 campaign at AAA Columbus.https://t.co/2nVmskl5s2

— GuardsInsider (@GuardsInsider) December 16, 2024

Last season was Nunez's first year in the Cleveland organization. He spent the entire year at Triple-A Columbus, finishing with a .202/.330/.339 slashline and a .669 OPS in 68 games. Nunez also allowed 58 stolen bases last season while catching 18 runners.

This signing of Nunez does not mean that he'll be on Cleveland's Opening Day roster next spring.

The Guardians are very thin organizationally at the catcher position. At the big league level, they have Bo Naylor and Austin Hedges. David Fry will not play the field until 2026 after undergoing elbow surgery earlier this offseason.

This lack of backstops could become a serious issue once the season begins. If Naylor or Hedges get hurt, the front office will need to replace one of them on the active roster, and Nunez could be an option.

Jun 27, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; A general view a Cleveland Guardians hat and glove on the dugout railing before a game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images | Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

Nunez, 29, has never appeared with Cleveland's major league team. However, he did play in 111 games for the Colorado Rockies from the 2019-22 season.

So, he does have some major league experience if the Guardians need another catcher at that level.

For now, though, this is just a depth move for the organization and gives them another option to play backstop down the line.