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11:00pm: Jesse Rogers of ESPN studies that McGuire is prone to be the Cubs’ selection to switch Amaya on the roster. A 40-man roster transfer will likely be wanted to be able to choose the 30-year-old’s contract.
10:16pm: The Cubs had been dealt a blow to their lineup as we speak when catcher Miguel Amaya exited their sport in opposition to the Reds attributable to an indirect difficulty. As famous by MLB.com’s Mike Petraglia after the sport, the problem was described by the membership as a left indirect pressure and would require a visit to the injured record in accordance with supervisor Craig Counsell. Petraglia provides that Amaya is anticipated to bear imaging to find out the severity of the problem on Tuesday, which is able to possible give the membership a clearer timetable for his return.
Within the meantime, it’s protected to imagine that Amaya will miss at the very least the following ten days and fairly presumably for much longer than that. Teammate Ian Happ required solely a minimal stint on the shelf for an indirect difficulty earlier this month, however it’s not unusual for extra critical strains to require weeks and even months of restoration. It’s inconceivable to know precisely how lengthy Amaya will likely be shelved till outcomes from the imaging come again, however an absence of any size is irritating for the 26-year-old given his sensible begin to the season on the plate this 12 months. By his first 98 plate appearances this season, Amaya has hit .286/.320/.516 with a 131 wRC+.
The teen’s .333 BABIP is unlikely to be sustainable and 22.4% strikeout price that’s 5 factors larger than final 12 months stands as a trigger for concern, however even Amaya’s .313 xwOBA suggests at the very least league common manufacturing in his future. That’s a stable final result for a younger a catcher, however determining precisely the place Amaya’s offensive future is headed will likely be placed on maintain in the intervening time. Within the meantime, veteran Carson Kelly figures to step into a bigger position behind the plate. The 30-year-old entered the season because the backup to Amaya on paper however compelled himself into one thing of a beginning position with a sensational begin to the season.
He’s hit an unbelievable .287/.416/.574 in 125 plate appearances coming into play as we speak. That 176 wRC+ leads all catchers with at the very least 80 plate appearances, his 9 dwelling runs up to now have already tied his whole throughout 91 video games final 12 months, and he’s even strolling (17.6%) greater than he’s putting out (13.6%). It’s famous person degree manufacturing from Kelly total, and whereas he can’t realistically be anticipated to maintain these numbers up perpetually, he smacked one other two hits (together with his ninth homer of the 12 months) to enhance his numbers for the month of Could, which had dipped a contact beneath league common after a current chilly spell.
With Kelly now extra firmly poised to take up the mantle of main catcher in Chicago, the query stays of who will function Kelly’s main backup whereas Amaya is injured. Moises Ballesteros is the one different catcher on the Cubs’ 40-man roster for the time being. He made his large league debut whereas Happ was on the IL earlier this month, however served completely as a DH whereas Seiya Suzuki shifted over to proper subject to cowl for Happ. Ballesteros went 3-for-16 with two walks and a strikeout in his first five-game cup of espresso within the majors however didn’t take the sector as a defender at any place, together with catcher. Scouts have lengthy thought-about his work behind the plate to be questionable, and whereas his .349/.410/.490 slash line at Triple-A this 12 months reveals there’s little left for Ballesteros to show offensively within the minors it stays to be seen if the Cubs could be comfy with him serving as a backup catcher within the majors at this level in his improvement.
If not Ballesteros, the Cubs might want to make a 40-man roster transfer to pick the contract of a veteran within the group on a minor league deal. The almost definitely candidate for that position would seemingly be Reese McGuire, who has 355 video games beneath his belt on the large league degree and is taken into account a top quality defender regardless of being held again considerably by a lackluster .252/.300/.364 slash line on the plate for his profession. An alternative choice could be 34-year-old veteran Carlos Perez, who provides even much less with the bat than McGuire however does have 5 years of MLB expertise beneath his belt and has a powerful defensive popularity of his personal. Neither participant is as thrilling as Ballesteros, however for a membership that already has one of many league’s finest offenses this 12 months it’s honest to surprise if prioritizing protection behind the plate might make sense.
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