Cubs ink catcher Dom Nunez to minor league deal |
When the Cubs elected to release PJ Higgins to open up a spot for Tucker Barnhardt a week ago, there was hope that Higgins would clear waivers and remain with the organization. After all, the 28-year-old Higgins has been part of the Cubs organization for the past seven years and has played a variety of positions along the way.
Not much of a power hitter; Higgins was always a guy who would hit in the .270 or .280 range in the minors before finally getting his opportunity in the majors in 2021 and 2022. Granted, he played sparingly at best, Higgins did show some of his potential and would have been a nice piece to have as minor-league depth. When you consider that Miguel Amaya is the only catcher close to MLB-ready in the system, it made sense why the Cubs wanted to keep Higgins. He provided a buffer for Amaya and would allow the Cubs not to rush him to ensure he is ready. However, if the Cubs most recent acquisition is a sign of things to come, Higgins's days with the Cubs are over despite having four more days on the waiver wire. According to reports, the Cubs and catcher Dom Nunez have agreed to a minor league contract, and he will now be making his way to Iowa this season. The 27-year-old Nunez is one year younger than Higgins, but unlike Higgins, he is a catcher and catcher only. Nunez was drafted in the sixth round of the 2013 MLB draft by the Colorado Rockies. Over the next several years, Nunez made a name for himself in the Rockies system. A reasonably good hitter in the minors, where he hit right around .260, Nunez turned himself into a legitimate prospect and one that was knocking on the MLB door by 2017. He was never a top 100 prospect, which many teams would like, but he was still a top 20 or even top 15 prospect inside the Rockies system. His best year in the minors came in 2015 when he hit .282 with 13 homers and 53 RBIs. It took him seven years from when he was drafted before he landed on the big league roster, but his time with the Rockies was short-lived at best. Over the last three years, Nunez has seen time in 111 big-league games, with 81 coming in 2021. From an average side of things, Nunez has struggled at the big league level, hitting just .180, with 12 homers and 39 RBIs. That is not an ideal stat line for anyone, hence signing him to a minor league deal. Knowing what we know now and looking at his overall numbers, why the interest in Nunez when other minor league options were available? Well, for starters, the San Francisco Giants claimed Nunez off the waivers earlier this offseason before he elected to choose free agency and sign with the Cubs. When you look at what the Giants have done in recent years and their ability to find gold out of nothing, that is worth noting, as they saw something in him that they thought they could work with. My guess is that he works exceptionally well with pitchers, which is something the Cubs put a significant focus on this offseason. While this is not one of those signings that will get most fans excited, it is still a much-needed depth signing for their AAA roster, as you can only have a little depth piece. Over the past three seasons, Nunez has bounced between the MLB and AAA, but hasn't been hitting much of anything in the process. However, Nunez does have some pop in his bat when he does hit, and he has shown the ability to be patient at the plate and take a ton of walks. Although he doesn't offer much offensively at all, he grades out exceptionally well behind the plate, which is the direction the team has gone this offseason. The offense is never the focus with these depth-catching types for Triple-A. In all likelihood, the Cubs targeted Nuñez for the same reason they targeted Yan Gomes and Tucker Barnhart: they’ve heard something good about how he managed a pitching staff, calls a game and generally works as a catcher
