The catching situation for the Rays in 2021 improved as much as anyone could have wished, largely because Mike Zunino is swinging one of the hottest bats in baseball, leading all catchers with 10 home runs. For the first time, the Rays have the catcher that they expected when they traded for him from the Mariners organization in 2019. Zunino has a higher WAR in 2021 (1.3) than in 2020 (0) and 2019 (0.3) combined, and remember we have played fewer than 50 games.
What’s going right this year? Let’s take a look.
When Zunino came to the Rays in 2019 it was probably not for his elite on-base skills; the Rays targeted him for his defense and power.