Willson Contreras

With the Cubs fresh off a letdown of a season and perhaps seeking to shake up their core, catcher Willson Contreras was the subject of trade speculation at the beginning of the winter. Contreras hasn’t gone anywhere, though, and now looks likely to begin the 2020 campaign as a member of the Cubs – the only organization he has known since signing out of Venezuela in 2009.

The 27-year-old Contreras discussed trade buzz centering on him Monday, saying (via Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times): “This past winter, the trade rumors were more consistent than the year before, and I was aware of it. I was trying to not pay attention to it, but it was impossible. Every time I was on social media, a new article was coming out about me being traded. Now that I’m here, I feel blessed once again. I’m happy to be here. I love this organization and my teammates. I’m really excited to have another great 2020 season with all my team.”

At last check, the Cubs weren’t pleased with the offers they’d gotten for Contreras. He’s one of the most valuable catchers in the game, and there weren’t many high-end backstops available in free agency, so they understandably held out for a sizable return. To this point, though, no club has presented a proposal acceptable enough for the Cubs.

Now, it appears Contreras will at least start the upcoming campaign as a Cub. And despite the rumors that have surrounded him, Contreras is open to remaining a Cub for the long haul. Contereras, who batted .272/.355/.533 with 24 home runs in 409 plate appearances last season, is willing to discuss a long-term deal with the team. He said Monday that he’s “always going to be open about talking to the Cubs about an extension.”

There haven’t been any extension talks between Contreras and the Cubs this offseason, according to Wittenmyer. However, Chicago’s not under immediate pressure to lock up the two-time All-Star. Contreras is under control via arbitration for the next three seasons, and he’ll make $4.5MM in 2020. That salary’s a bargain relative to what he brings to the table.

While it would seem surprising to see the Cubs put young backstop Willson Contreras up for trade, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link) that it’s a possibility. “Multiple teams” around the game believe the Chicago organization will take offers for the 27-year-old, per the report.

Let’s stop here to make clear: the expectations of rival executives does not a trade make. But it’s notable nevertheless that such a potential outcome has sprung up at this earlier stage of the offseason; after all, teams have been talking already. The negotiating partners of Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein will want to know whether there’s any realistic possibility of landing Contreras, or whether instead they should simply look elsewhere.

There’s no denying the major value Contreras would have on the open market. He dealt with some leg injuries, but was excellent when healthy. Over 409 plate appearances, Contreras slashed .272/.355/.533 with 24 home runs. He’s a lifetime 117 wRC+ hitter who is perhaps on the upswing (or at least not in decline) with the bat.

Behind the plate? The tools all seem to be there. He has generally been quite successful at cutting down the running game and at blocking stray pitches. There’s an argument that Contreras has been on the upswing in the framing department; he ended the year ranked as a positive in that regard — at least by one tabulation. Framing metrics have varied.

MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian looked at this question recently, noting that there are multiple ways to look at the matter. It seems clear the team feels that Contreras isn’t a fully finished product, though in some respects that only makes him more intriguing.

Bastian quotes Epstein:

“We’ve won a lot of games with Willson Contreras behind the plate. We’ve had a lot of success pitching with Willson Contreras behind the plate. There are certainly areas he can continue to improve upon, but shame on us if we can’t continue his development at the big league level, because this is like the most tooled-out, athletic catcher who has a huge heart and cares and wants his pitcher to succeed as well.”

Contreras won’t turn 28 until next May. He’s projected to earn a relatively stout $4.5MM in his first trip through arbitration, but that’s a plenty manageable figure for a regular backstop. The three years of contract control remaining are quite enticing, all things considered.

All of those factors also make Contreras exceptionally valuable to the Cubs — a team that isn’t exactly in position to pack it in for a rebuild. True, they have Victor Caratini on hand to perhaps take a bigger piece of the action if paired with a veteran. But you’d think that new manager David Ross would be well-positioned to help Contreras reach his monster ceiling. And there’s a reason that clubs prize the few, rare catchers in the game that contribute both with the glove and with the bat on a near-everyday basis.

Teams are already considering just how much to pay the older but also excellent Yasmani Grandal in free agency. They may have a more affordable alternative in Contreras, though it’ll surely cost a small fortune in trade value. (Last year’s J.T. Realmuto swap provides some conceptual help, though he was a year closer to free agency at the time he was dealt.) Just what the Cubs would be looking for in return isn’t known, though it would presumably not be an entirely future-oriented bargain for the Chicago organization. It’ll certainly be interesting to see whether talks gain any traction and, if so, what direction they take.

The Cubs will activate catcher Willson Contreras and install him in tonight’s lineup, skipper Joe Maddon (h/t Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, via Twitter). Veteran Ben Zobrist is also set to return to action for the first time since early May.

Contreras has been sidelined for about a month, leaving the team without a key regular. Jonathan Lucroy was added to partner with Victor Caratini and hold down the fort, but the club is well shy of full strength without its first-choice receiver.

The Cubs obviously feel that Contreras has recovered fully from the hamstring strain that forced him to the sideline. Otherwise, he’d presumably remain on ice. The club can ill-afford an aggravation of the malady, which might risk Contreras’s postseason availability. At the same time, he’s certainly needed to help the club as it attempts to chase down the Cardinals and hold off Wild Card contenders over the final month of the season.