4 Chicago Cubs players who surprisingly earned a roster spot in 2025

Miguel Amaya miraculously saved his season in the second half

Similar to Alzolay, Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya came into the season with some lofty expectations. Expected to take on a larger role alongside an aging Yan Gomes, the former highly-regarded prospect showed a ton of growth in 2023 and this was supposed to be the year he ascended to the throne, if you will.

Instead, he fell flat on his face in the early-going and there were legitimate questions as to whether or not he'd even finish the year on the roster given his lack of minor league options. Hoyer scoured the trade market at the deadline, even engaging with the Angels on Logan O'Hoppe, but wound up having to settle for Tomas Nido and Christian Bethancourt as stopgap options after cutting ties with Gomes in June.

Thankfully, Amaya flipped a switch post-All-Star break and has looked like a completely different hitter. He's always received high marks from his pitchers, but he went from a liability with the bat to a key piece of the Cubs lineup down the stretch. The Venezuelan-born backstop raised his OPS more than 200 points from his first-half performance and will no doubt be back next year looking to show his turnaround was no fluke.