Zunino was selected third overall by the Mariners in the 2012 MLB Draft out of Florida University and wound up splitting the first decade of his career between Seattle and Tampa Bay before spending his final year in Cleveland. He hangs up his spikes and catching gear after posting a lifetime .199 batting average with 149 homers across 3,098 plate appearances since 2013.

Zunino passed through waivers unclaimed and has been cut loose by the Guardians after being designated for assignment last week. The 32-year-old catcher finished with a disastrous .578 OPS across 42 games for Cleveland after signing a one-year, $6 million contract last offseason.

The Guardians needed to free up a spot on their 40-man roster for Touki Toussaint to start on Friday and Zunino became the odd-man out. The 32-year-old backstop has struggled mightily in his time with the Guardians this season â?? slashing a woeful .177/.271/.306 with three homers, 11 RBI and a 61/15 K/BB ratio over 140 plate appearances. He could attract interest on waivers from a team starving for catching depth.

It was just his second hit in 31 at-bats this month. Zunino has been a liability both offensively and defensively this season, but the Guardians made it clear they're not ready to give up on him when they didn't even give 27th man Bo Naylor a start in Sunday's doubleheader before returning him to Triple-A.