Chicago Cubs: Four options to replace the injured Willson Contreras

The Chicago Cubs are waiting with bated breath for an update on Willson Contreras. In the meantime, here are some potential replacements.

Just days ago, some Chicago Cubs fans may have been a bit miffed by the brief rental of veteran backstop Martin Maldonado, but very few people were losing any sleep over swapping him for Tony Kemp trade deadline. Of course, the team seemed to be set with the likes of Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini, behind the dish. My, my, my… what a difference a couple days can make.

After going hitless in 11 at-bats over only four games while a Cub, Maldonado had a double and a run on Thursday and had a bomb, a walk, and two runs scored on Friday for the Astros. For good measure, he threw in another hit, run, and walk Saturday in a blowout. Oh, and he also caught a no-hitter. No big deal.

Meanwhile, Contreras suffered what appeared to be a pretty substantial hamstring injury in the Cubs’ win over Milwaukee at Wrigley Field Saturday. We won’t know more until he undergoes an MRI on Monday.

If you’ve followed the Cubs in recent years, you’ll remember that Contreras has had hamstring issues derail promising campaigns in the past. You’ll also remember that his right hamstring is the same one he injured two years ago against the Giants in the midst of an MVP-like tear. What this means, only medical personnel could speculate on, but it seems unlucky regardless.

In 86 games so far in 2019, Willson has put up a superb slash line of .277/.368/.531 with 19 home runs and 57 RBI, which isn’t a whole lot different than what he had done in 2017 when he went out. The semi-good news, if Contreras has to miss significant time: the offense is now deeper and should be able to absorb the loss of his bat with the addition of newcomer Nicholas Castellanos. The bad news: the Cubs don’t really have a ton of catching depth ready for the big leagues.

So, what will the Cubs do? Here are some options, which are now limited because of the fact the only trade deadline just passed.

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.

Could the Chicago Cubs have interest in Lucroy at this point?

Regardless of what you may think of Caratini or Davis, the injury to Contreras will no doubt make many fans feel a bit skittish about how precarious of a situation the Cubs would be in should they hypothetically lose Contreras and Caratini to injury.

While you never like to think such pessimistic thoughts, an injury to such a vital position could sink the Cubs ship before it gets to Playoffville. Also, let’s face it – both guys have already spent time on the IL this season and catching is an injury-riddled position.

In this vein, I’m sure the Cubs and their fans don’t want to see Davis as the starting catcher (or maybe not even as the back-up catcher) as the team navigates the homestretch of their season. One would assume that adding a proven and competent MLB catcher has to be a focus for the Cubs right now as you read this. Unfortunately, the trade deadline just passed and there are no other trades coming in August unless it’s for a minor leaguer.

Working under this idea, could it be possible the Cubs elect to go after veteran Jonathan Lucroy, who was recently designated for assignment by the Angels? They’d have to wait out the waiver line and pay him his prorated salary if so, or they could play the waiting game if he clears altogether. In that case, they’d be able to sign him for the prorated league minimum salary which would represent close to a million dollars in savings – a big deal for a team looking to pinch pennies after spending over $240 million for the year.

Lucroy does have seven home runs and 30 RBI this season in 74 games, but he’s a shell of the player he once was, and his framing and defensive metrics this year have really taken a nosedive. He also was out for 18 games with a concussion and broken nose after getting leveled by Jake Marisnick in a brutal collision at the plate.

If the Cubs don’t feel he’s worth a million dollars (or if they don’t have it left), they may wait out the waiver process and see if they can take a flyer on him by signing him as a free agent.

Chicago Cubs: Hey, this guy might be worth a flyer

Filed under “possible guys to kick the tires on if there’s an emergency,” you’ll find Bobby Wilson. While he’s not very good at this point and he can’t hit at all, he has been good enough defensively to be a back-up since 2005. Fourteen years in the Majors is nothing to scoff at, and if he can handle the pitching staff, the Cubs might be willing to take some goose eggs in the offensive categories under these extreme circumstances.

Is he any better than Taylor Davis at this point? Probably not. Although, if the Cubs feel like they need a proven veteran or another guy in case of more injury, they might check up on Wilson. He was on a minor-league deal this season and played in only 15 games for the Tigers; he was outrighted to the minors on July 30.

While Wilson would be a bit of a last resort, he would represent a veteran presence and could be had on the cheap. If Contreras and the Chicago Cubs get bad news on Monday, you can bet your bottom dollar that you’ll hear Lucroy’s and Wilson’s names in the next couple days.

At that point, the money and viability of both would have to be ascertained by the baseball people in the front office, as well as any scouts who had seen them play most recently since they’re not currently playing in the majors.

If the Cubs feel that Lucroy and Wilson aren’t options, they’d be left with the three catchers from Iowa: Davis, P.J. Higgins and Erick Castillo as your only other real possibilities. Unless, of course, they went farther down the pipeline and got a little crazy.