Per The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney, the Cubs have acquired catcher P.J. Higgins in a minor trade with the Diamondbacks in exchange for cash consideration.
It’s a homecoming for Higgins, who was drafted by the Cubs in the 12th round of the 2015 draft. He made his big league debut on the north side back in 2021 with a nine-game cup of coffee before getting a longer look in the organization the following season as the club’s third catcher behind Willson Contreras and Yan Gomes. Higgins made it into 74 games that season, slashing .229/.310/.383 in 229 plate appearances, good for a roughly average wRC+ of 97. In addition to his 236 innings of work behind the plate, Higgins spent time at both infield corners with the Cubs in 2022.
Despite that solid performance, Higgins was eventually designated for assignment by the Cubs during the offseason to make room for newly-signed catcher Tucker Barnhart on the 40-man roster. Higgins elected free agency shortly thereafter before signing with the Diamondbacks on a minor league deal shortly after the new year. In 2023, Higgins has hit well at the Triple-A level for Arizona with a .317/.407/.473 slash line (116 wRC+) in 58 games. Unfortunately for Higgins, he was blocked with the Diamondbacks by Gabriel Moreno, Carson Kelly, and Jose Herrera, all of whom were on the 40-man roster in Arizona.
Higgins now returns to Chicago, though he’s once again blocked by a trio of catchers on the 40-man roster: Barnhart, Gomes, and Miguel Amaya. That being said, Barnhart has struggled massively at the plate with a wRC+ of just 58 in 110 plate appearances this season, while Gomes was among MLBTR’s Top 50 Deadline Trade Candidates earlier this month. Should the club move on from either Barnhart or Gomes in the near future, Higgins could have a path to a roster spot with the Cubs as the club’s third catcher. In the meantime, he figures to head to Triple-A where he’ll share time with Dom Nunez and Bryce Windham at the Triple-A level.
Catch’em in his PJs
HIGGY BABY!!!!
Gomes to Marlins?!!
Maybe Gomes and some other company going somewhere.
Keep Yan. Just release Tucker…Please.
Just like the Cubs trying to outsmart themselves! They should keep Gomes, now that he’s finally hitting. DFA Barnhart & leave Higgins in minors. Bring up another hitter & send Amaya down for more seasoning….catching ain’t our problem anyway. It’s the OF & IF corner spots. ♂️♂️♂️
Nothing wrong with DFA to Barnhart, that’s for sure. But you must realize Gomes is not signed for next year. And Amaya is ready to take over the #1 catching job. And this year is down the drain!?!
I believe they have a team option on Gomes for next year. But this certainly seems like planning around moving either Gomes or Barnhart.
Do U think Gomes is worth resigning or is he gonna want too much after a resurgent year? As for Amaya, I’m not certain if he’s ready or. Probably needs at least rest of this year in AAA. Maybe Hoyer has something up his sleeve, but after Mancini, Barnhart & Hosmer signings, I am truly skeptical.
Gottcha. Higgins though? Better the SECOND time around? It’s like marrying the same person twice. How often does that work? LoL
devhog just wondering- have you watched more than 3 games this year?
Uh, just wondering if you follow the Cubs at all.
I think it’s worth accepting Gomes’ option for next year. Amaya hasn’t handled a full starter’s defensive load since his injury. I’d like to see Amaya catch 75 games against righties in 2024 and DH against lefties, with Gomes picking up the rest. That would set Amaya up to be the primary catcher starting in 2025 with 4 remaining years of team control.
Gomes is going nowhere. Dom Nunez just went on the Iowa IL for 7 days and as usual with Minor Leaguer’s there is no report on how long he’ll be out. Cubs just picked him for his familiarity with the Cubs P’s. He won’t see any Major league time I’m sure so everyone can cool the trade rumors.
Here’s my thoughts on the Cubs and trades. The Cubs don’t have pitching and lack consistent hitting and especially power. There’s no way to the playoffs so if Hoyer gets top prospects he will be selling. Bellinger and Stroman can bring on a haul to fill the gaps. The Cubs can compete for those free agents services in 2024 season. That would be while they while they bid on free agent Ohtani. Criticizing Hoyer only clouds his judgement so give it a rest.
Except he’s made some stupid moves this year, So he gets a pass? For one if he hadn’t extended Happ for no reason we’d be trading him now and extending Bellinger.
Oh! So now we can’t criticize Hoyer? Hope you’re being facetious. As for Ohtani? Surely U jest! There is no way in hell, the Cubs will even BID on him. Nor should they. Any team will b paying for a 2-way player. He doesn’t play much outfield any more, so potentially I’m gonna pay 50-60M for a DH (if the arm goes out?). PLEASE!
This sounds perfect for the Yanks, Dodgers or even Mets.
Just off the top of my head.
Hosmer
Boxberger
Mancini
Mastrobuoni
Wisdom
Suzuki-We were sold a bill of goods, He’s nothing like we were told
Fulmer
Extending Happ
I mean how many bad decisions do you have to make to get reprimanded?
Plus I’m not even getting into Ross
Oh man! So agreed on EVERYTHING. And don’t get me started on Suzuki…he was indeed OVERSOLD. Japanese players are hit & miss. For every Ichiro, there are 3 Suzuki’s. Remember Fukodome? And Happ had a career year….now he can’t even keep up his gold glove status. As long as Wisdom hits 25 homers, Jed is happy. ♂️
The Cubs starting AAA catcher came out of the game the other night and landed on the AAA IL today. So Higgins is just filler for now.
Those minor league BB/K rates look fun! However, Meibrys Viloria and Yohel Pozo were like that in the minors and majors. Maybe, he can adapt, or maybe, he ends up like them.
World Series-caliber move.
LET HIM COOK
I think Dom Nunez is injured, so that’s a reason for trade as well.
LoL. Who’s that?
If it doesn’t work out for P.J. Higgins, he’s got the perfect name to find employment as an English butler.
I know a guy in Hawaii who could use a butler.
The Cubs season officially ended today back up the truck and sell anything not bolted down.
Unfortunately, agreed!
Barnhart’s gonna get his release any day now. No reason to give him a chance to pick up his 2024 option if he finishes the season with the Cubs. I can see the Cubs going with Gomes (and picking up their 2024 option) and Amaya for next season to help develop the pitching staff. Higgins is purely depth.
In a way it’s too bad Gomes played so well offensively for the cubs this season. He handles the pitchers well. There is value in trading him, and I’d be all for it if they’re wasn’t a team option to extend for 2024 and the cubs would have a better opportunity to just resign him for next year.
But who knows, maybe the cubs get an offer they can’t refuse for Gomes and they have to ride out the season with Amaya and then Barnhart as the backup.
How does the FO keep their jobs? No one but Hoerner, Swanson and Steele should be untouchable. Terrible organization from top to bottom, ownership is so out of touch with actual baseball, they love the corporate garbage. Sickening
Long time fan, but U r so accurate!
PJ Higgins is brutal
Exactly! Someone explain to me the thought process on this one. And let’s b sure to give him a Mancini-like contract.
It 2 paragraphs about a AAAA old catcher.
This move is akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
LoL. Well put. It’s also called busy work or tricking your boss & fans into thinking you are working hard. Who hasn’t been there before?
Preparing for the deadline sell-off. I’m guessing both Gomes and Barnhardt are on the block. Amaya seems to be ready for his shot. Adding PJ also gives you a lefty bat at first in place of Bellinger. I would hold on to Bellinger though. Where do you find a lefty hitter that can DH, play 1B and CF?