Chicago Cubs: Four options to replace the injured Willson Contreras

Chicago Cubs: Barring other issues, Caratini will see the field a lot more

Doing nothing and standing pat are the easiest things to do here. Slide Caratini into the starting role and call up Taylor Davis to back him up/spell him when needed. Ride him hard, but not too hard. Sort of like what happened when Caratini was hurt earlier in the year and Joe Maddon decided to ride Contreras pretty hard. Davis caught a couple of games and even had a memorable grand slam, but he’s the backup – and nothing more.

While Caratini has had a fine season offensively this season, he’s scuffled since coming back from his wrist injury. Coming out of the chute like a rocket to start the season, with a crazy slash line of .571/.647/1.000 before injuring his wrist, Caratini has come back down to Earth since, slashing just .225/.316/.382. Granted, his pre-injury numbers were the epitome of small sample size, but wrist injuries have a way of sapping power from any hitter.

In this scenario, Davis would serve as the primary back-up, catching once a week and maybe giving Caratini a few innings off as a defensive replacement in others. Davis has played in six games for the Cubs in 2019, going 3-for-15 with a couple of walks and that epic granny.

In parts of three seasons with the Cubs, Davis has gone 8-for-33 (.242), but his primary advantage over anyone else the Cubs might look to get is that he already knows and has worked with the staff. Plus, he’s great at staredowns with cameras.