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The Chicago Cubs' catcher position is still a question mark long-term. Miguel Amaya's recent hot streak, though, may help the team decide its plans.
Chicago manager Craig Counsell sounded off about Amaya, who has slashed .352/.398/.593 with five homers over his last 101 plate appearances, via The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma.
“He’s got on a good stretch now,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s playing really well, playing at a really high level offensively. That makes a difference for us.”
The Cubs were searching for catchers through the trade deadline, and they still might get a new one this offseason. Amaya's production, though, radically improved around that time due to a change in his swing. The 25-year-old went from a leg kick, which yielded bad results over the first three months, to a more effective toe tap.
Counsell, though, isn't drinking the Amaya Kool-Aid yet.
“You’ve got hot stretches, you’ve got cold stretches,” Counsell said. “You try to evaluate the season as a whole. You understand that young players, you hope there’s some positive trend. As they’re young, they’re probably changing more than someone farther along in their career. Players can change. That’s the evaluators’ job to figure out, ‘What does this mean?’”
Amaya has another month to show that his recent stretch wasn't a fluke. However, his defensive prowess also helps his case, with several Chicago pitchers claiming that he works well with them, via Sharma.
“That’s not going away and that’s the life of a catcher,” Counsell said. “The catcher knows what primary job No. 1 is. There’s no question they get less thoughts dedicated to their offense. That’s not going to change. Miggy’s going to continue putting his thoughts in the right place.”
Will Amaya be the catcher of the future, or will he be part of a timeshare in the coming years?
The Cubs have different options to weigh
With the leg kick, Amaya was slashing .189/.253/.260 in 187 plate appearances. The Panamain international's turnaround is a big reason why Chicago is now within five games of the final NL Wild Card spot after a dormant start to the season.
“What comes first, the confidence or the adjustment?” Counsell said. “He’s got both going right now. He’s swinging at good pitches. When he gets a pitch to hit, he’s doing some damage with it. He has the power to do this, this is not fluke stuff. He hits the ball hard. He’s getting some results from it and some good feedback.”
However, fellow catcher Christian Bethancourt has been on a heater of his own as well. The 32-year-old went 3-for-5 with a homer and seven RBI from the nine-hole against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday. He's now slashing .407/.448/.889 with three homers and 15 RBI since coming up from Triple-A in late July.
Bethancourt made history on Wednesday, via the team's social media.
Today, Bethancourt recorded his first-career 7-RBI game, making him the sixth catcher in #Cubs history (since 1901) to knock in seven or more in one game 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Sr6HJmCYkd
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 28, 2024
“Today, Bethancourt recorded his first-career 7-RBI game, making him the sixth catcher in #Cubs history (since 1901) to knock in seven or more in one game 🔥,” the account tweeted.
While Bethancourt is an older player, he could continue cutting into Amaya's playing time if he keeps raking. Regardless, the Cubs will have some tough decisions to make at the position this winter.
If they acquire another prominent catcher, it could stunt Amaya's development. However, it could be the better win-now move, as the six-foot, 230-pounder's body of work is a small sample size.
