Reese McGuire is making the Cubs' upcoming roster decision harder than expected

Reese McGuire hit his fifth home run in 14 games with the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday evening in St. Louis, which matches his career high. Heading into Thursday, he is hitting .239/.271/.587 with a 135 wRC+ in 49 plate appearances. It's safe to say he's exceeded expectations so far in filling in for the injured Miguel Amaya.

Amaya, who suffered an oblique injury on May 24, is working his way back. This can raise the question of what the right thing to do is with McGuire. When Amaya returns, the Opening Day catching tandem (barring injury) of Kelly and Amaya will be back in place. The Cubs will not DFA Kelly, even if he's cooled off since his April surge. He was paid to be the veteran catcher on a multi-year deal. Even with him falling back to Earth offensively, he has not warranted being let go. As long as Amaya and Kelly are healthy, they are on this roster.

So, there are a few options for the Cubs.

What will the Cubs do with Reese McGuire once Miguel Amaya returns?

The first is to carry three catchers, a la 2016. While this seems like an intriguing idea, especially considering the bench has really struggled to produce offensively, the way rosters are structured now it's harder to do. While you can improve your bench's offense a bit, you are taking away versatility. No question that the bench needs a lot of work, but it's probably better to make moves for a better-hitting utility man in the long run. Unless you ride with it for a little while and adjust the roster later in the season. Not a 100 percent impossible idea, but not as likely.

Another could be to find trade value for him. Teams can see the pop he's provided and has always been a solid defender and (for a backup catcher) not a terrible hitter; it's not going to get you Sandy Alcantara alone, but maybe he could help the Cubs snag something. Teams can always use a veteran backup catcher, and one who has been providing some value at the plate is always a plus.

Having McGuire in the organization as depth would be nice to have. Note that he is out of minor league options, though. He would be subject to waivers to be outrighted back to Triple-A Iowa. If he had options, this would be a much easier discussion to have.

This matter might not be very pressing if Amaya comes back in a few weeks and looks like his normal self and Kelly is doing what he's paid for. For now, it's worth a discussion at least.