4 players the Chicago Cubs will regret not signing

Houston Astros Photo Day
Houston Astros Photo Day / Rob Carr/GettyImages
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 4
Next

4 players the Chicago Cubs will regret not signing - 1. Omar Narvaez

With the Cubs letting Willson Contreras go this past offseason, they opted to fill the hole left behind by a defensive-minded catcher in Tucker Barnhart. Earlier in free agency, it was Christian Vazquez that the Cubs had been formally linked to, but Omar Narvaez really could have helped the Cubs behind the plate from an offensive and defensive perspective.

dark. Next. Cubs fans aren't going to love these new preseason rankings

Though he is towards the bottom of the leaderboard among active catchers in caught stealing percentage, Narvaez's ability to frame pitches and call games made him a necessity for the Cubs this past winter. In 2022, he was 6th in catcher-framed runs with 6, after being first in the MLB with 10 in 2021. Aside from that, his experience calling games for Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff in Milwaukee would have been a massive boost for the Cub's pitching staff. Offensively, he averaged a slash of .276/.361/.412 from 2016-2019 while also batting .266/.342/.402 and earning his first All-Star honor in 2021.