Chicago Cubs: Missing out on Rene Rivera hints at team’s backup catcher plans

We finally got a hint about the Chicago Cubs backup catcher plans for next season when René Rivera signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

If the Cubs were going to go the route of signing a free agent, say a defense-first, veteran catcher, Rivera was arguably the best option. He’s a good pitch framer and has a strong arm. He also played for the Cubs at the end of last season, so he’s already at least a little bit familiar with the organization and the pitching staff. He even hit well as a member of the Cubs with a slash-line of .341/.408/.591 in 50 plate appearances despite being a career .220/.271/.349 hitter.

A sign of things to come?

However, what is most telling about Rivera signing with the Angels is his one-year, $2.8 million contract. The Cubs might have been hoping to sign him for slightly less, but a one-year contract at only $2.8 million would have been a great low-commitment, low-cost deal for Chicago.

By comparison, David Ross‘s contract with the Cubs was $5 million over two years, for a $2.5 million AAV. Factor in a few years for player salaries to rise and maybe even give Rivera a little bit more for being four years younger than Ross was and the contracts are very comparable.

So either Rivera wasn’t the Cubs’ first choice, they tried to get him and missed, or he preferred to sign with the Angels. Maybe he wants to catch Shohei Ohtani?