Christian Bethancourt has signed a minor league contract with the Cubs, according to his transaction log on MLB.com. The journeyman catcher was released by the Marlins last week. The Cubs will be his ninth MLB organization since he made his big league debut with the Braves in 2013.
Bethancourt failed to make much of an impression over his first five MLB seasons, appearing in 161 games for the Braves and Padres between 2013-17 and slashing .222/.252/.316 with a 52 wRC+. He did not play in the majors from 2018-21, bouncing between the Brewers, Phillies, and Pirates organizations, with a brief stopover in the KBO during the 2019 campaign.
At 30 years old, Bethancourt finally returned to the major leagues in 2022, appearing in 56 games for the Athletics and playing well enough to catch the attention of the Rays ahead of the trade deadline. He continued to play well with Tampa Bay down the stretch, finishing the season with a league-average 100 wRC+ and 1.8 FanGraphs WAR.
Unfortunately, Bethancourt did not find the same success in 2023. While he made Tampa Bay’s Opening Day roster and played 102 games behind the dish, he finished the season with just a 74 wRC+. His defensive numbers took a hit as well; he caught 13 of 30 would-be base stealers in 2022 but only 13 of 57 the following year. His pitch-framing numbers also declined, according to metrics from both FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
The Rays flipped Bethancourt to the Marlins over the offseason, and his offensive struggles have only gotten worse in 2024. He slashed .159/.198/.268 over 38 games in Miami before he was designated for assignment in mid-June. He was released shortly thereafter. Bethancourt will now join the Triple-A Iowa Cubs as he strives to get his next big league opportunity on the North Side of Chicago. The Cubs have gotten very little production from their catchers this year; the only team whose catchers have a lower OPS or wRC+ is the Marlins. Currently, Tomás Nido and Miguel Amaya are the only two backstops on Chicago’s 40-man roster. Presumably, Bethancourt is now the next catcher on the depth chart.
JED HOYER SHOULD BE FIRED FOR THIS SIGNING. What a joke. Dumpster diving
Nobody gets fired over signing a minor league contract. The player either helps the team, or gets released.
If this signing is the reason you want Hoyer removed you must have been living in a cave for the last 3 years. There were a lot more than this to choose from. But you’re just a White Sox troll so there’s that.
What a ridiculous comment. It is a minor league contract, dude. MINOR. M.I.N.O.R. Not much money, very, very low downside, and some upside.
I’d love to play poker with whitesox2112. I’d take all his money.
What about the Sox’s GM then?????????
This says something about how bad Amaya has been.
If the Cubs make a move that could be considered significant – I wonder how likely it would be, to acquire a young catcher. Either one already with MLB experience, or one that is blocked.
Amaya is solid defensively, even considering his issues at this time with throwing out runners. He is an excellent framer. But he needs to improve with the bat. And I doubt Ballesteros will ever get to the point where he’s anything more than a 3rd catching option. And Aliendo is still a question mark.
The Cubs need to address that position before next season.
Aliendo is injured and Ballesteros is Kyle Schwarber 2.0 as a C. Windham isn’t horrible but is more of an all around guy. They left Aliendo unprotected and he passed through rule 5 but he’s the best hope for an all around C-Hitting and defense. Nobody in the Minors has stepped up and taken the position by storm. Trying to find one who is both is difficult as anybody who has one is hanging on to him.
We still shopping at Dollar Tree.