The Cubs need assistance behind the dish. That assertion is not going to come as a shock to anybody who has watched baseball on the North Aspect of Chicago this season. Cubs catchers are batting .199/.346/.305 with a 54 wRC+ in 2024. These are grim numbers, even contemplating the decrease offensive requirements on the place. So as to add insult to damage, Cubs catchers don’t grade out effectively on protection both, with -4 Defensive Runs Saved (twenty first in MLB) and a -6 Fielding Run Worth (twenty third). Total, Miguel Amaya, Christian Bethancourt, Tomás Nido, and Yan Gomes have mixed for -0.9 FanGraphs WAR, final within the Nationwide League and twenty ninth in MLB. Solely the White Sox have gotten much less manufacturing from behind the plate.
With all that in thoughts, it is smart that the crew made a severe effort so as to add a brand new backstop earlier than the July 30 commerce deadline. Based on Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer “aggressively pursued” catching this summer season. Logan O’Hoppe of the Angels was one participant he had his eye on. Nonetheless, Sharma notes that the Angels “repeatedly and firmly rebuffed” Hoyer’s makes an attempt to commerce for his or her 24-year-old catcher.
This traces up with all the things we already knew about Chicago’s plan forward of the deadline. The Cubs had been linked to Danny Jansen, arguably the most effective catcher on the commerce block, in mid-July. Nonetheless, Hoyer later acknowledged that he wasn’t going to make strikes that might solely enhance the roster in 2024, however quite those who would assist the crew “for 2025 and past.” Jansen is about to succeed in free company this winter, as is Carson Kelly, the one different notable catcher traded at this yr’s deadline. In different phrases, neither matched up with what the Cubs had been looking for. O’Hoppe, then again, is not going to be eligible for arbitration till the 2026 season, and he is not going to attain free company till the offseason after the 2028 marketing campaign. Very like Isaac Paredes, O’Hoppe may have helped the Cubs compete in 2024 and for a number of years to return.
But, for a similar causes, it’s not laborious to know why the Angels had little interest in giving him up. O’Hoppe broke out on the plate throughout an injury-shortened 2023 marketing campaign. In 51 video games, he hit 14 house runs and put up a 113 wRC+. His .264 remoted energy ranked second amongst main catchers (min. 150 PA), whereas his .500 slugging proportion ranked fourth. The younger catcher has continued to hit in 2024, slashing .260/.320/.435 with a 111 wRC+ throughout 101 video games. He has additionally taken a giant step ahead on protection. His defensive metrics stay under common in nearly each class, together with pitch framing, blocking, and pop time, however he isn’t almost as a lot of a legal responsibility as he was final season. In 2023, he produced -9 DRS and a -7 FRV in simply 49 video games at catcher. This yr, in virtually twice as many appearances, he has a way more palatable -3 DRS and -3 FRV. All informed, O’Hoppe has produced 1.8 fWAR, which ranks tenth amongst main catchers. Nonetheless simply 24 and enjoying in his first full MLB season, he has loads of time to proceed to enhance.
Los Angeles was quiet on the commerce deadline, and experiences urged GM Perry Minasian was unlikely to commerce any gamers who weren’t on expiring contracts. That turned out to be true, as relievers Carlos Estévez and Luis García had been the one gamers the crew ended up promoting. One may argue the Angels ought to have been aggressive in buying gamers with a number of years of crew management, equivalent to Tyler Anderson, Taylor Ward, and Griffin Canning. Nonetheless, that they had little or no incentive to commerce O’Hoppe, particularly if they’re hoping to contend once more within the close to future.
Thus, the Cubs struck out on O’Hoppe and finally determined to stay with what that they had: Amaya, Bethancourt, and, as soon as he returns from the IL, Nido. Which means Amaya is the first catcher, though Sharma notes that the crew sees him as a backup for 2025 and past. In the meantime, Bethancourt has been scorching since he joined the crew as a substitute for the injured Nido in late July. As soon as Nido is able to return, Chicago might want to decide if he or Bethancourt would be the second-string catcher for the remainder of the 2024 marketing campaign. As for subsequent yr, Hoyer should tackle the catching place over the offseason. Free agent choices will embody Jansen, Kelly, Elias Díaz, and Jacob Stallings (if his mutual choice with the Rockies shouldn’t be exercised). The very best inner choice for the Cubs is prime catching prospect Moises Ballesteros, however he’s solely 20 years previous, and Sharma factors out that the crew isn’t bought on his protection. Lastly, Hoyer will certainly stay energetic in commerce talks, but it surely’s laborious to say if any big-name backstops will probably be on the block this winter.
