The Cubs were dealt a blow to their lineup today when catcher Miguel Amaya exited their game against the Reds due to an oblique issue. As noted by MLB.com’s Mike Petraglia after the game, the issue was described by the club as a left oblique strain and will require a trip to the injured list according to manager Craig Counsell. Petraglia adds that Amaya is expected to undergo imaging to determine the severity of the issue on Tuesday, which will likely give the club a clearer timetable for his return.
In the meantime, it’s safe to assume that Amaya will miss at least the next ten days and quite possibly much longer than that. Teammate Ian Happ required only a minimum stint on the shelf for an oblique issue earlier this month, but it’s not uncommon for more serious strains to require weeks or even months of recovery. It’s impossible to know exactly how long Amaya will be shelved until results from the imaging come back, but an absence of any length is frustrating for the 26-year-old given his brilliant start to the season at the plate this year. Through his first 98 plate appearances this season, Amaya has hit .286/.320/.516 with a 131 wRC+.
The youngster’s .333 BABIP is unlikely to be sustainable and 22.4% strikeout rate that’s five points higher than last year stands as a cause for concern, but even Amaya’s .313 xwOBA suggests at least league average production in his future. That’s a solid outcome for a young a catcher, but figuring out exactly where Amaya’s offensive future is headed will be put on hold for the time being. In the meantime, veteran Carson Kelly figures to step into a larger role behind the plate. The 30-year-old entered the season as the backup to Amaya on paper but forced himself into something of a starting role with a sensational start to the season.
He’s hit an unbelievable .287/.416/.574 in 125 plate appearances entering play today. That 176 wRC+ leads all catchers with at least 80 plate appearances, his nine home runs so far have already tied his total across 91 games last year, and he’s even walking (17.6%) more than he’s striking out (13.6%). It’s superstar level production from Kelly overall, and while he can’t realistically be expected to keep these numbers up forever, he smacked another two hits (including his ninth homer of the year) to improve his numbers for the month of May, which had dipped a touch below league average after a recent cold spell.
With Kelly now more firmly poised to take up the mantle of primary catcher in Chicago, the question remains of who will serve as Kelly’s primary backup while Amaya is injured. Moises Ballesteros is the only other catcher on the Cubs’ 40-man roster at the moment. He made his big league debut while Happ was on the IL earlier this month, but served exclusively as a DH while Seiya Suzuki shifted over to right field to cover for Happ. Ballesteros went 3-for-16 with two walks and a strikeout in his first five-game cup of coffee in the majors but did not take the field as a defender at any position, including catcher. Scouts have long considered his work behind the plate to be questionable, and while his .349/.410/.490 slash line at Triple-A this year shows there’s little left for Ballesteros to prove offensively in the minors it remains to be seen if the Cubs would be comfortable with him serving as a backup catcher in the majors at this point in his development.
If not Ballesteros, the Cubs will need to make a 40-man roster move to select the contract of a veteran in the organization on a minor league deal. The most likely candidate for that role would seemingly be Reese McGuire, who has 355 games under his belt at the big league level and is considered a quality defender despite being held back somewhat by a lackluster .252/.300/.364 slash line at the plate for his career. Another option would be 34-year-old veteran Carlos Perez, who offers even less with the bat than McGuire but does have five years of MLB experience under his belt and has a strong defensive reputation of his own. Neither player is as exciting as Ballesteros, but for a club that already has one of the league’s best offenses this year it’s fair to wonder if prioritizing defense behind the plate could make sense.
