Guillermo Zuniga, who spent four seasons in the Dodgers minor-league system, signed a major-league deal with the Cardinals earlier this month.
Guillermo Zuniga took some major steps forward when he came from the Braves to the Dodgers in 2018, moving through L.A.’s minor-league ranks up to Double-A Tulsa the last two years. Zuniga was very good for Tulsa in 2021, although he struggled a bit in his second year at the level.
Still Zuniga is just 24 years old, so he has plenty of time to figure things out and become an impact reliever in the big leagues. If he does, though, it won’t be with the Dodgers, as Zuniga became a free agent in November and signed a big-league deal with the Cardinals earlier this month.
The 6-foor-5, 230-pound righty has averaged well over a strikeout per inning since joining the Los Angeles organization, but his two big issues in 2022 were walks (4.9 BB per nine innings) and homers (2.0 HR/9). In 2021, when he posted a 3.06 ERA at age 22, his K/9 was a career-high 12.5, his BB/9 was a manageable 3.3, and his HR/9 was a solid 1.3.
The Cardinals apparently see a lot of potential in Zuniga, giving him a major-league contract. That doesn’t mean he’ll be in the big leagues; it just means he’s on St. Louis’s 40-man roster. Zuniga still has all three minor-league options years remaining, so he’ll likely start the season in Triple-A.
Zuniga just wasn’t quite a fit for the Dodgers. They would have had to add him to their 40-man roster to keep him, and they weren’t ready for that commitment with him. He gets that commitment from St. Louis, which could be a very good thing for his career.
