Cubs Drop Brutal Update on Injured Catcher

Oh boy does this suck. The Cubs were hoping for a better outcome, but unfortunately the update on injured catcher Miguel Amaya is a brutal hit to their roster. Amaya was removed from Saturday’s game against the Reds with an oblique issue and on Sunday he was placed on the injured list. An MRI revealed the severity of the injury and on Tuesday the Cubs announced that Amaya will miss 4-6 weeks with his oblique strain.

That timeline means Amaya won’t be back until July.

The 26-year-old catcher has been stellar at the plate for the Cubs in 2025. Amaya has recorded a 127 wRC+ in 100 plate appearances, slashing .280/.313/.505, with four home runs in 27 games.

Coupled with Amaya’s oblique injury is Carson Kelly’s absence from the lineup since Saturday. Kelly was scratched from Sunday’s series finale in Cincinnati and is still not in the starting lineup for Tuesday night’s game against the Rockies. Amaya and Kelly have combined to generate the highest production out of the catcher position in MLB so far in 2025.

Veteran backup Reese McGuire was called up from Triple-A and has started the past three games for the Cubs at catcher with Amaya and Kelly out. At this point it doesn’t seem as though 21-year-old catching prospect Moises Ballesteros will be called up to fill in behind the dish.

(Previous Update)

The Cubs are about to take a significant downgrade behind the plate as catcher Miguel Amaya is headed to the injured list.

Amaya was taken out of Saturday’s game against the Reds after he made a throw to second base, trying to throw out Elly De La Cruz in the fifth inning.

Following the 6-4 loss, Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters that Amaya will be placed on the 10-day injured list. Once again, the Cubs are dealing with an oblique issue.

Amaya, alongside Carson Kelly, have paired up to produce a 157 wRC+ this season, the highest mark among catchers from all 30 teams in the league. Amaya is slashing .280/.313/.505, with 4 home runs and 25 RBI this season in 27 games.

Kelly, who was a monster at the plate during the month of April, has cooled off a bit, but he’s still slashing .301/.425/.612, after he went 2-for-2 off the bench on Saturday, including his 9th home run of the season. He will now player a bigger role with the Cubs during Amaya’s absence.

For those thinking that Amaya’s injury means catching prospect Moises Ballesteros will be called up, they’ll most likely end up disappointed. It appears as though veteran backup Reese McGuire might be the one traveling to Cincinnati for the series finale on Sunday to take Amaya’s roster spot.

McGuire has played in 22 games with the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A this season and was noticeably out of the starting lineup Saturday night, hinting at his promotion.

We’ll see what the official move is on Sunday, but it does look like the Cubs want the experience behind the plate instead of relying on Ballesteros to start at catcher at the major-league level when he’s still a work in progress defensively.

As for Amaya, he sounded pretty dejected after Saturday’s game.

A brutal hit to the Cubs and for Amaya. You’re talking about a guy who had to re-invent himself offensively halfway through the 2024 season and he completely turned his career around.

Hopefully the test results come back with good news. Ian Happ recently missed the minimum 10 days on the IL with a minor oblique issue, so fingers crossed that it’s a similar timeline for Amaya. If not, that’s a pretty significant downgrade at catcher whenever Kelly has an off day.