Cubs Free Agent Rumors: Discussing the Top-2 Catchers (Besides Contreras)

The Chicago Cubs need to sign a catcher to pair with veteran Yan Gomes, so you shouldn’t be surprised to see them discussing the top-two free agent catchers available. Well, you know, the top-two catchers besides Willson Contreras, who officially declined the qualifying offer on Tuesday and is now free to sign with whatever team wants him.

Entering the offseason the Cubs have three catchers on their 40-man roster, the aforementioned Gomes along with PJ Higgins and Miguel Amaya. Gomes, who will be in the second year of his deal in 2023, still graded out as a good defensive catcher in 2022, and was praised by the Cubs for guiding the Cubs pitching staff throughout the year. However, his offense regressed, which shouldn’t be shocking from the 35-year-old and ideally the Cubs want a more secure option than Higgins, who was OK in his time behind the plate for the Cubs.

And well, I wish I had more faith in Amaya being able to contribute on a major league team in 2023, but injuries have piled up for him in the last two seasons, so he’s not a guaranteed option for the Cubs in case of injury or poor performance.

No catcher on the free agent market will be able to replace Contreras’ offensive production, hell it’s tough to find more than a few across MLB, but there are two solid options that the Cubs are exploring to add to their catchers’ room.

Via Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma in The Athletic.

The Cubs are expected to add a veteran catcher — names such as Christian Vázquez and Omar Narváez have been discussed internally — who will share the catching responsibilities with Yan Gomes next season.

All righty. It’s good to see the expectation is that the Cubs will go out and acquire another catcher and if it’s not Contreras, then you obviously have to love that they’re exploring the next two best catchers on the market.

Out of the two, Christian Vázquez is the clear top choice. The 32-year-old, has been a league average or better hitter in three of the last four seasons, while consistently being a good pitch framer and overall good defender behind the plate. In 2022, Vázquez began the season with the Red Sox and was then traded to the Astros. He slashed .274/.315/.399, in 426 plate appearances. He also recorded 11 defensive runs saved and posted a 4.9 framing score, according to Fangraphs.

Meanwhile, Omar Narváez has improved defensively ever since he was traded to the Brewers ahead of the 2020 season. He’s posted 3.9, 8.8 and 7.5 framing scores the last three years after being terrible at pitch framing from 2016-19, with the White Sox and Mariners. The defensive ratings have also been good by Narváez at 6.3, 15.8 and 11.3 in Milwaukee.

However, Narváez, who put up some good seasons at the plate for a catcher, has regressed offensively. It was particularly brutal in 2022, when he slashed .206/.292/.305, with four home runs in 84 games. However, he is only one year removed from a .743 OPS in 445 plate appearances back in 2021.

I picked Narváez in my Cubs offseason plan and that’s because I think Vázquez will get more money and a higher share of playing time elsewhere. Narváez is also a left-handed hitter, who would naturally fit in with the Cubs in a platoon with Gomes, as Narváez carries a career .751 OPS and 106 wRC+ against right-handed pitching. Gomes fares much better against lefties than righties.

On Fangraphs’ top-50 free agent list, Vázquez is projected to sign a two-year deal between $8 million and $9 million per year and on MLBTR’s free agent predictions, they have Vázquez at three years for $27 million total. Narváez is projected to get a similar deal according to Fangraphs, but for a few million dollars less.

So, out of the two who do you think the Cubs will get? That is of course IF they get one of the two.

For more offseason talk, tune into the Pinwheels And Ivy Podcast.