In this week’s “Three Up, Three Down” article, I noted that the Cubs have a major problem with Yan Gomes and Miguel Amaya at receiving. Neither of them hit and they haven’t been good at throwing out runners either.
So, the idea arises that the Cubs should try to acquire someone better to be behind the plate. In this scenario, I think I’d probably just release Gomes, who is in the final year of his contract, and keep Amaya as a backup. Amaya is talented and played quite well in 2023. He is only 25 years old and could still improve.
Here are three receivers who could be available via trade and the pros and cons of acquiring them.
Elías Díaz, Rocky Mountains
Diaz is having a good year, hitting .304/.349/.437 with four home runs in 44 games. He’s also done well eliminating base stealers, although his 20 percent CS rate is below his career norms (although still better than Gomes and Amaya!). He led the National League in CS rate in 2021 at 42 percent.
Positives
Diaz is a decent hitter, although there’s always that “but Coors Field!” warning. He’s hitting about the same on the road this year (.774 OPS) compared to Coors (.795 OPS), so maybe that’s not a big deal. The CS rate is a big plus.
Negatives
He is 33 years old and has been here for a while. It’s always possible for a receiver like that to suddenly drop in performance. He makes $6 million this year, the same as Gomes. Perhaps the Rockies could be convinced to make a contract swap, if the Cubs added some decent prospects to the deal. Díaz is a free agent after this year.
Danny Jansen, Blue Jays
Jansen is having a good year with the bat, hitting .297/.375/.571 with five home runs in 28 games.
Positives
The bat, mainly. While Jansen’s .946 OPS is by far the best of his career (small sample size alert!), he has a career .757 OPS, which is much better than any of the Cubs’ catchers .
Negatives
He’s not actually cutting running backs, just 13 percent last year and 18 percent this year. However, both numbers are better than the Cubs’ catchers in 2024. Jansen makes $5.2 million this year, once again close to what Gomes makes. Again in this case, perhaps some type of financial agreement can accompany the prospects. Gomes started his career in Toronto, and maybe finishing it there would work for the team.
Victor Caratini, Astros
Would a reunion with the former Cubs catcher work?
Positives
Caratini is pretty decent at throwing out runners, 27 percent this year, a little above his career norm. He’s hitting pretty well, .261/.307/.420 with two home runs in 26 games. And he’s a switch-hitter, which makes him a little more versatile.
Negatives
The Cubs would accept a contract in 2025 for Caratini for $6 million. Honestly, that’s not much for someone of his talent level. 2025 will be his age 31 season. The Cubs don’t have any catching prospects at the top of the system, so perhaps another year of Caratini would help.
Now I’m going to leave it to you to make suggestions on which prospects you would include in a deal for any of these receivers. They are all making roughly the same amount of money, so the idea would be to send Gomes to do a financial wash and add prospects to make the trade worth it for the other team.
Which of these receivers would you like the Cubs to trade for?
Survey
Which catcher should the Cubs try to trade for?
0% Víctor Caratini (0 votes)
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