Chicago Cubs: Backup catcher options on the free agent market

Without Victor Caratini, the Cubs will need to add depth behind the dish.

As it stands right now the Chicago Cubs still have Willson Contreras as their number one catcher with Miguel Amaya listed as their second on the MLB.com depth chart. Amaya, 21, is one of the team’s top prospects but he is still working on developing in the minors and Jed Hoyer said this week he is not a candidate to start the year with the big league club. Knowing as much, his making the big league roster out of camp seems next-to-impossible and frankly not a great idea for him.

It is best that the Cubs go out and bring in a veteran backup catcher because MLB-ready options within the organization are just not there yet. Closest is P.J. Higgins who played in both Tennessee and Iowa in 2019 but has not played in the majors yet at age 27. Contreras is the only catcher on the roster with MLB experience right now.

Adding a veteran backup will not only help the team on the field, but can also allow them to have a potential trade asset later in the season when they might feel bringing up Amaya is necessary. There are a number of catchers available on the free agent market not named J.T. Realmuto or Yadier Molina (who seems to still want a solid paycheck). Here are some names.

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It has been some time since Alex Avila was a starting catcher in his days with the Tigers. Now 33 (soon to be 34) he has mainly been a veteran backup the past few years. He was briefly a Cub in 2017 when he came over in the Justin Wilson trade and played in 35 games. A memorable moment for him as a Cub was his walkoff single against the Blue Jays.

Since then Avila has played with the Arizona Diamondback and last year the Minnesota Twins. In 2020 he did struggle at the plate, hitting .184/.355/.286 in 23 games. He will still take walks and get on base. In his career he is a .235/.348/.394 hitter with 104 home runs, .742 OPS and 101 OPS+. In 2011 he was an All-Star and Silver Slugger recipient.

Avila is probably not going to produce like he did in Detroit days, but he is still a reliable backstop that can draw walks and have solid pop with the bat. He is a guy that if he needs to start 60-80 games, he can do so.  Coming off a one-year deal $4.25 million contract with Minnesota he certainly won’t make more than that in 2021.

Cubs can add a World Series champion to their ranks in Kurt Suzuki

While he has spent much of his career as a starting catcher, at age 37, Kurt Suzuki has not been starting 120+ games in a season since his Minnesota days. Last year with the Nationals he played in 33 games and hit .270/.349/.396 with two home runs, 17 RBI and 99 OPS+ showing that he still can swing a solid bat at an older age.

Suzuki has caught in 1,427 MLB games and is a career .259/.316/.392 hitter with 133 home runs, .708 OPS, and 92 OPS+. He is a pretty average hitter overall but it is worth noting he has hit a cumulative .272/.337/.475 the past four seasons (2017-2000). For a catcher it is hard to complain about those numbers.

Suzuki is pretty reliable behind the dish and has plenty of experience catching all sorts of pitchers from Gio Gonzalez to Max Scherzer. Last year he made $6 million on the second year of a two-year, $10 million deal he signed before the 2019 season.

He very well will likely not command that much money, it could be a matter of if he wants a one or two year deal. Cubs probably do not want to commit to an older catcher for over one year.

Cubs could choose to play it safe in someone like Austin Romine

This option is not incredibly exciting, but Austin Romine can come in and bring experience without  breaking the bank. Romine, 32, spent last season with the Detroit Tigers after playing his first 369 career games with the New York Yankees. He caught 37 games with Detroit last year and hit .238/.259/.323 with two home runs and 17 RBI.

Overall Romine is a career .239/.278/.361 hitter with an OPS+ of 71 and 27 home runs in 405 home runs. In 2018 he hit a career-high 10 home runs and 42 RBI.

So no, Romine would not bring a good bat. He struck out over 30 percent of the time last year and does not get on base. Romine is a decent enough catcher behind the plate and can play first base as well which can help create defensive depth at the position.

This guy is going to be available on the cheap. There’s no way he makes the $4.1 million he received in 2020. Romine is not one of the ideal additions but available nonetheless.

Those are just some options on the market for catchers that could come in and help. Like mentioned at the beginning, bringing in an experienced catcher to backup Willson Contreras, at this point, is an absolute must.