Awful Catching Tandem May Force Cubs Into Deadline Trade

The Chicago Cubs are getting little out of their current tandem and it may require them to make a deal in a thin catching market.

May 11, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Cubs catcher Yan Gomes (15) hits a single against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. The Pirates won 10-8. / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell knows that his catching situation isn’t ideal right now.

“Frankly, our catchers’ offense has been a struggle,” Counsell said to reporters earlier this week. The Athletic reported the comments on Friday.

How bad are Yan Gomes and Miguel Ayama?

Using traditional baseball numbers, they’re awful. Gomes was slashing .148/.176/.235/.411 in 29 games entering Friday’s action. He had just two home runs and five RBI. Last season he batted .267.

As for Ayama, well, he’s not much better. He is slashing .195/.255/.281/.536 in 44 games with two home runs and 14 RBI.

If the old-fashioned baseball numbers don’t do it, maybe the advanced analytics will. The Athletic pointed out that the Cubs catchers are No. 29 in WAR (wins above replacement). When it comes to offense, Chicago has a 39 wRC+, second worst behind the Miami Marlins.         

That might be acceptable if the pair were good behind the plate. But they’re tied for No. 27 in Fielding Run Value metrics as put together by Statcast. They’ve also allowed the fifth most stolen bases and were tied for the worst caught stealing percentage in baseball.

Catcher in a tandem can be bad at one or the other. But they can’t be bad at both at the same time. Right now, Gomes and Amaya are as bad as it gets.

In an NL Wild Card race complicated by the fact that nine teams under-.500 are within three games of each other, the offense may end up mattering more down the stretch.

Do the Cubs have internal options? Well, their top two catching prospects are at Double-A Tennessee — Moises Ballesteros and Pablo Aliendo. They’re unlikely to skip an affiliate.

There is little to suggest their Triple-A catchers are in a position to help. Ali Sánchez has 2,199 minor league at-bats, but just 13 MLB at-bats and he batted .231. Bryce Windham has never played in the Majors. But he’s batting .265 for Iowa.

If the Cubs have to make a trade, the market isn’t exactly brimming with talent. Recently, ESPN’s Jeff Passan did a full trade deadline preview for every team. He mentioned one catcher that might be gettable at the deadline — Toronto’s Danny Jansen.

Fortunately, Jansen is doing the one thing that Gomes and Amaya can’t seem to do right now — hit. In 34 games Jansen is slashing .267/.348/.483/.831 with five home runs and 13 RBI. Yes, he has more home runs than Gomes and Amaya combined.

He isn’t exactly expendable to the Jays. He works alongside Alejandro Kirk. The Blue Jays do have Brian Serven in the minors. Plus, Jansen is in the final year of his deal with Toronto and is set to hit free agency. If the Blue Jays — who are around the .500 mark — opt to sell some assets, trading Jansen would get them something in return.

The Cubs would be a perfect fit for Jansen. They have a need for his offense and he would probably love to get a little closer to home, even for half a season. He’s an Elmhurst, Ill., native, who went to high school in Appleton, Wis.

Is this a situation where everyone wins? Maybe. But first the Cubs have to figure out if they can win in spite of Gomes and Amaya.