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Willson Contreras

Willson Contreras To Begin Rehab Assignment

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The Cubs have been without Willson Contreras for three-plus weeks after he suffered a right hamstring strain, but the star catcher is closing in on a return. Contreras will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Iowa on Friday, and if all goes well in the minors, he could rejoin the Cubs within a week, manager Joe Maddon told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune and other reporters.

Contreras went down during the Cubs’ game Aug. 3, which was especially unfortunate just a few days after the July 31 trade deadline passed. With Contreras and Victor Caratini healthy at the deadline, the Cubs decided veteran Martin Maldonado was inessential, as they sent him to the Astros for utilityman Tony Kemp. Of course, the Cubs only acquired Maldonado from the Royals in mid-July because Contreras landed on the IL with a different injury – a right foot strain.

Even with the deadline out of the way and Maldonado out of the picture, Chicago was able to pull in an experienced catcher earlier this month. The team signed former standout Jonathan Lucroy on Aug. 7, which came shortly after the Angels released him. Lucroy’s multiyear decline has continued as a Cub, though he has at least given the team OK offensive production for a backup. The 33-year-old entered Thursday with a .276/.344/.345 line in 29 plate appearances since he joined the Cubs.

Unlike Lucroy, Caratini has been quite valuable this season, which has made the blow of losing Contreras easier to absorb. Caratini swatted a pair of home runs in the Cubs’ win over the Mets on Thursday, giving him nine HRs and a robust .274/.363/.480 line across 201 trips to the plate. Not only that, but Caratini has graded as one of Baseball Prospectus’ top defensive catchers this year.

When the Cubs’ top two catchers are healthy, few teams are in better shape behind the plate. Injuries aside, Contreras has enjoyed a fourth straight highly productive campaign – at least with the bat – as he has posted a .275/.365/.525 slash and 19 homers in 340 PA. The big-armed Contreras’ overall defensive numbers pale in comparison to Caratini’s, but the former is nonetheless among Chicago’s most valuable players and a key reason why it’s in playoff position at the moment.

The Cubs, who are 2 1/2 games up on a wild-card spot, will be thrilled to welcome back Contreras as they continue attempting to chase down the Cardinals for an NL Central crown. While the Redbirds are a game and a half ahead, the two teams still have to square off seven times in late September, when Contreras should again be a prominent part of the Cubs’ lineup.

Latest On Willson Contreras

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The Cubs are making do without top backstop Willson Contreras, but it largely goes without saying that the club anxiously awaits his return. There’s optimism within the organization about his health status, manager Joe Maddon told reporters including Tony Andracki of NBC Sports Chicago (Twitter link).

Contreras has been sidelined since early August with a hamstring strain. At the time, the expectation was that he’d miss about a month of action, and it’s clear he’ll be sidelined at least that long — if not a bit longer. But it’s relieving to hear that things have progressed well to this point.

At present, Contreras has yet to resume baseball activities. Instead, he’s still building up strength in the region of the strain. Both club and player have every intention of exercising ample caution. In addition to the fact that Contreras has previously experienced issues in that area of the body, he’s facing a tight timeline within which to return. A setback would potentially be disastrous with just five weeks remaining in the regular season.

It’s not clear precisely how soon Contreras could be back. The timeline will obviously depend upon the particulars of his recovery. But Maddon noted that his first-choice backstop could begin picking up baseball activities as soon as next week.

Cubs Place Craig Kimbrel On IL; Anticipate Month-Long Absence For Contreras

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The Cubs got some unwelcome injury news today on two fronts. Closer Craig Kimbrel was placed on the 10-day IL with a knee injury, while further examination revealed that catcher Willson Contreras is expected to miss about a month of action. ESPNChicago.com’s Jesse Rogers covered the news (links to Twitter).

Righty Duane Underwood Jr. is coming up to replace Kimbrel on the active roster. The hope, clearly, is that it won’t be a lengthy absence for the recently added veteran.

All that’s really known at the moment is that Kimbrel is dealing with inflammation, though it seems he has already been cleared of major structural issues with an MRI. The veteran hurler says he’s confident he’ll be ready to return after the minimum absence.

Kimbrel has already saved nine games for the Cubbies. But the new relationship has been a bit rocky. In 12 2/3 innings, Kimbrel has already coughed up four home runs. He has exhibited a clear loss of velocity and sports a 17:8 K/BB ratio (a 15.0% K%-BB% is less than half his career average), though he’s still managing a strong 16.5% swinging-strike rate that’s right at his career mean.

Hopefully, the Chicago org will welcome back an even better version of Kimbrel once he has taken a brief respite and sorted out his knee. The team is facing a rather more worrying situation with its top backstop.

Contreras suggested that he expects at least four weeks on the shelf, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Tribune reports (Twitter links). He indicated that he’ll be taking a cautious recovery path — no doubt a good idea given the timing. While there’s every reason to believe Contreras will be fully healed in time for the stretch run and postseason, it’d only take one setback to put that at risk.

It stands to reason that the Cubs will be on the hunt for another receiver — a search that’ll be complicated by the new August acquisition rules. The club had Martin Maldonado briefly, but shipped him on to the Astros before the trade deadline. At present, Victor Caratini and Taylor Davis are holding down the fort.

Cubs Place Willson Contreras On IL

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The Cubs announced today they’ve placed catcher Willson Contreras on the 10-day injured list, as expected. Taylor Davis has been recalled from Triple-A Iowa to take his spot on the 25-man roster.

Contreras came up hobbling in yesterday’s game and was diagnosed with a hamstring strain. The team decided it needn’t wait until receiving the results of tomorrow’s MRI to shut him down. It’s dreadful timing for the first-place Cubs, who lead the NL Central by a mere half-game and just traded away catcher Martín Maldonado. Contreras has been one of the Cubs’ best players, slashing .275/.365/.525 over 340 plate appearances.

In his absence, the club will turn to Víctor Caratini, who has hit well himself in limited time and might be a superior defender to Contreras but can’t match the latter’s offensive track record. Caratini’s no doubt a better reserve backstop than what most teams can run out, but it’s never good news to lose a top five player at one’s position.

Behind Caratini will be Davis, a 29 year-old who’s seen sporadic big league action the past three seasons. Davis has never shown much punch with the bat, and his .250/.358/.350 line in Triple-A in 2019 is fairly underwhelming, considering the high-powered offensive environment he’s played in.

Injury Notes: Carpenter, Contreras, Simmons

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As our thoughts remain with those affected by the events in El Paso tonight, a few collected injury notes from around the game of baseball…

  • It’s been a season to forget for Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter, who, before being placed on the IL with a foot contusion on July 16th, was scuffling to the worst batting line of his accomplished career. Good news tonight, though, from Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who reports that Carpenter will rejoin his teammates on Saturday night in advance of a possible Sunday activation. Carpenter has some work to do in the season’s remaining months if he wants to end up with a more characteristic batting line–his .215/.321/.372 slash and 86 wRC+ are a far cry from the production Cardinal nation has become accustomed to over the years (129 career wRC+).
  • As Jordan Bastian of MLB.com points out, the Cubs might have erred in trading defensive backstop extraordinaire Martin Maldonado in a deadline deal–with the hamstring injury endured by starter Willson Contreras on Saturday, Chicago’s catching depth is likely about to be tested. Contreras grabbed his right leg while running out a fly ball in the seventh inning, but manager Joe Maddon was unwilling to place a firm prognosis on the injury. “I really don’t know at this point,” said the manager. “We’ll just wait and see how it plays out.” While Contreras is scheduled for an MRI on Monday, the club will look to Victor Caratini to man the dish in his absence. The call-up of Triple-A Iowa’s Taylor Davis is a definite possibility in the event of an eventual injured list placement.
  • Early in the day, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported that Angels shortstop Andrelton Simmons was a scratch from Saturday’s game due to “left foot soreness”. Fletcher later relayed that Simmons injured his foot in the batting cage before Saturday’s loss to the Indians and that an MRI was set to follow. Any extended loss of the defensively stingy Simmons would obviously be a blow to the beleaguered Los Angeles club, who turned to David Fletcher to man short in today’s action. Simmons had been hitting .274/.315/.382 on the year while turning in typically strong defensive marks.

Cubs Option Addison Russell To Triple-A

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The Cubs have optioned infielder Addison Russell to Triple-A Iowa and activated catcher Willson Contreras from the injured list, the team announced to reporters (Twitter link via ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers).

Russell, 25, began the season on the restricted list while he served out a 40-game suspension under the league’s domestic abuse policy. His return to the lineup has been underwhelming — not surprising for a player who has never posted a league-average offensive season by measure of OPS+ or wRC+ — as he’s posted a .247/.329/.404 line in 158 plate appearances. Much of Russell’s career-high 10.7 percent walk rate has been a function of batting seventh or eighth in front of the pitcher.

In recent weeks, Russell has begun to cede time at second base and in the lineup to rookie Robel Garcia, who now stands to receive additional starts at the keystone. Russell’s demotion could also open up some time for David Bote at second base, although he’s been used exclusively at third base since late June. Still, he’ll be a depth option there and perhaps at shortstop as well, given that Russell had been the primary fallback option should Javier Baez ever need to come out of a game.

The Cubs have been tied to Eric Sogard on the rumor mill recently, and it stands to reason that they’re also exploring the possibility of adding another cost-efficient option at second base while waiting to see whether Ben Zobrist returns to the lineup in 2019. Speculatively, that could include players such as Jonathan Villar, Tim Beckham, Adeiny Hechavarria or Neil Walker, though a move isn’t a foregone conclusion.

Clearly, the demotion only further calls into question Russell’s future with the club. That’s been the case since the time of his suspension, although the Cubs chose to stand by Russell, with president of baseball operations Theo Epstein speaking of second chances and supporting Russell in “stabilizing his life” and “growing.” That said, Epstein was also candid that the club would be prepared to move on from Russell if need be. His lackluster performance at the plate, recent defensive miscues — he dropped a pair of pop-ups over the weekend — and recent, eye-opening acknowledgment that he “need[s] to become more familiar with the signs” (via Rogers) in the wake of a baserunning gaffe certainly don’t paint a favorable outlook.

Cubs Rumors: Trade Deadline, Maldonado, Caratini, Hamels

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The Cubs, buoyed by a weekend sweep of the Pirates and a dramatic walk-off victory Tuesday, are likely to approach the trade deadline as a buyer. However, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein tells Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (subscription required) that “it would take a special deal to sacrifice the very top of the farm system.” Epstein plainly states that while his goal is to win in 2019, the team is simultaneously trying to build its farm back up after years of aggressive, win-now deals. Epstein himself doesn’t list specific untouchables, though one can presume that players like Miguel Amaya, Nico Hoerner, Adbert Alzolay and Aramis Ademan will be tough to pry away. The Cubs have recently been linked to left-handed bullpen upgrades, and manager Joe Maddon spoke recently about his desire to add a more consistent veteran bat to the lineup.

More Cubs rumblings…

  • Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times dispels some speculative theories following the Cubs’ surprise acquisition of Martin Maldonado. Adding a third catcher to the mix doesn’t indicate that Willson Contreras’ foot injury is worse than has been suggested. To the contrary, Contreras said he expects to be cleared for full baseball activity by the end of the week, calling his injury a “bruise” after a visit with a specialist. The Maldonado trade was not made with the intent of either shopping Victor Caratini or optioning him back to Triple-A, Wittenmyer further reports. The Cubs have a history of acquiring a third catcher in recent August waiver periods — Bobby Wilson in 2018, Rene Rivera in 2017 — but there’s no opportunity to do so now that August trade waivers have been eliminated. “You can never have enough good catching, especially catching that is playoff-experienced and respected by veteran pitchers and coaches alike,” GM Jed Hoyer said following the Maldonado deal.
  • An early August return could be in the cards for lefty Cole Hamels, Wittenmyer writes in a second piece. Hamels will have a mound session today after a previous pair of throwing sessions from flat ground. The southpaw conceded that while he “hates it,” he’ll need to make at least one minor league rehab start because it’s the “smart thing to do.” If today’s session goes well, that could put him in line to reclaim his rotation spot on Aug. 3, tentatively putting his total absence at a period of about five weeks. Hamels, 35, had pitched to a terrific 2.98 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 0.81 HR/9 and a 51.1 percent ground-ball rate in 99 2/3 innings when he landed on the IL late last month. He’d been doing his best work of the season prior to being shelved, making his absence all the more costly for the Cubs. In six June starts (37 innings), Hamels allowed five earned runs with a 37-to-9 K/BB ratio.

Cubs Acquire Martin Maldonado For Mike Montgomery

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The Cubs have acquired catcher Martin Maldonado from the Royals, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets. Left-hander Mike Montgomery’s going to Kansas City in the swap, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports. The teams have confirmed the trade.

With Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini having combined to offer excellent behind-the-plate production in 2019, the Cubs don’t look like a fit for Maldonado on paper. However, Conteras is heading to the injured list with a strain of the arch muscle on his right foot, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic was among those to report. The Cubs don’t expect Contreras to need longer than the minimum 10-day IL stint, Sharma adds.

Playoff-contending Chicago’s getting a capable stopgap in Maldonado, whom it showed interest in during the offseason. Maldonado chose against signing with the Cubs over the winter because he wanted to join a team that would offer him more playing time than he’d have gotten in Chicago. It proved to be a wise decision on Maldonado’s part. With Salvador Perez out for 2019, the 32-year-old Maldonado ultimately became Kansas City’s primary catcher after signing for $2.5MM guarantee a few weeks before the season.

Long known as a tremendous defender with a questionable bat, Maldonado lived up to his reputation with the Royals. In 261 plate appearances in KC, Maldonado hit .224/.288/.359 (71 wRC+) with six home runs. On the other end, he threw out an above-average 33 percent of would-be base stealers and earned quality reviews from Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric.

In exchange for Maldonado, a soon-to-be free agent, the out-of-contention Royals are getting two-plus years of control over Montgomery. A swingman for most of his career and a full-time reliever this year, Montgomery, 30, will slot into the Royals’ rotation immediately, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com tweets. He’ll also rejoin the organization that spent a first-round pick on him in 2008. Four years later, the Royals traded Montgomery to the Rays in a blockbuster that also included James Shields, Wade Davis, Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi.

Montgomery never pitched for the Rays, instead joining the Mariners in a swap in 2015 – the year he made his major league debut. He lasted with the Mariners for approximately a season and a half, going to the Cubs in July 2016 in yet another deal.  A few months later, Montgomery earned the save in the Cubs’ historic Game 7 World Series win over the Indians.

Montgomery was effective even before his career-defining moment in ’16 and has largely fared well since, but his numbers have taken a significant turn for the worse this year. He logged a woeful 5.67 ERA/6.21 FIP with 6.0 K/9, 4.33 BB/9 and a 43.3 percent groundball rate over 27 innings in his final season with the Cubs.

Overall, Montgomery has pitched to a far better 3.72 ERA/4.21 FIP with 6.87 K/9, 3.47 BB/9 and a 53.9 percent grounder rate across 167 appearances and 56 starts in the majors. The Royals will hope he puts up numbers more in line with his lifetime marks as a member of their rotation, which lost veteran Homer Bailey in a trade with the Athletics on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Cubs had already been in search of a left-handed reliever before trading Montgomery. Therefore, this deal could further put the onus on president of baseball operations Theo Epstein to acquire a southpaw by the July 31 deadline. With Montgomery on a $2.44MM salary this year, the Cubs added a small amount of payroll in this swap.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Poll: Choose Your Franchise Catcher

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Although potential Hall of Famers Buster Posey and Yadier Molina are among the most decorated catchers in baseball history, it appears the two 30-somethings have given way to a new guard at the position. J.T. Realmuto, Gary Sanchez and Willson Contreras stand out as the most valuable behind-the-plate building blocks in today’s game, owing to performance, age and affordable control. The Brewers’ Yasmani Grandal also belongs in the current class of elite backstops, but the fact that he’s 30 years old, expensive and only signed through this season works against him in comparison to Realmuto, Contreras and Sanchez.

Among those three, the longest big league track record belongs to the Phillies’ Realmuto, who’s in his age-28 season. The athletic Realmuto broke out with the Marlins in 2016 and proceeded to rack up 11.3 fWAR through last year, trailing only Posey and Grandal at his position. He’s fresh off back-to-back 4.0-fWAR seasons and is on a similar pace in his first year as a Phillie.

So far in his new digs, Realmuto has accounted for 2.0 fWAR through 208 plate appearances. While Realmuto’s offensive production has dropped from where it was over the previous three seasons (115 wRC+), his 102 wRC+ remains far above average for his position (89). He’s also an all-world defensive player who possesses far more speed than you’d expect a catcher to have. If there’s one check against Realmuto, it’s that he’s only under control for another season after this one, in which he’s earning $5.9MM.

No full-time catcher has fared better at the plate this season than the hard-hitting Sanchez, whose 154 wRC+ ranks 18th among all players with at least 100 PA. The 26-year-old has mashed 17 home runs, good for a fifth-place tie, to put an uninspiring 2018 behind him. Sanchez combined for 7.5 fWAR from 2016-17, his first two seasons, but fell to 1.7 in ’18 and sits well behind Realmuto this season (1.2). Although Sanchez has a big arm, he’s not in Realmuto’s stratosphere as an overall defender. However, Sanchez is making barely over the league minimum this year and comes with three more seasons of control via arbitration.

Contreras, who turned 27 on May 13, has been a revelation at the plate since he debuted in 2016. Dating back to then, Contreras’ 119 wRC+ ranks second among backstops (only Sanchez’s 128 has been better), while his 7.5 fWAR is eighth. He’s at 152 and 1.7 in those categories this year, having swatted 12 homers and gotten on base at a 40 percent clip. Although Contreras has not gotten rave reviews behind the plate this season or for most of his career, his offense, age and affordability are all huge pluses. Like Sanchez, he’s in his final pre-arb season and controllable through 2022.

Considering all of the above factors, which of these three catchers would you want to build a team around?

(poll link for app users)

Choose Your Franchise Catcher
J.T. Realmuto 39.67% (5,316 votes)
Gary Sanchez 30.88% (4,139 votes)
Willson Contreras 29.45% (3,947 votes)
Total Votes: 13,402

Injury Notes: Contreras, Fowler, Syndergaard, Heaney

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Here’s the latest on some injury situations around baseball…

  • The Cubs announced that catcher Willson Contreras has been activated from the 10-day disabled list.  Manager Joe Maddon told MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat (Twitter links) and other reporters that Contreras is available to play, though the team will only gradually work him back into the lineup, such as not using Contreras for a full game.  Contreras has been sidelined for the last month due to a hamstring strain, which interrupted a very strong season for the 25-year-old.  Prior to the injury, Contreras had posted a .274/.342/.519 slash line and 21 homers over 378 plate appearances, spending the bulk of his time at catcher but also playing a few games in both corner outfield and infield spots.
  • Dexter Fowler will be out of action “for at least a few days” due to a left knee contusion, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports (Twitter link).  Fowler suffered the injury crashing into the outfield wall in pursuit of an Adam Frazier fly ball last night, and Fowler was forced to leave the game.  The good news is that an MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage to Fowler’s knee.  Fowler as been productive (.255/.356/.470, 15 homers) when he’s been able to play this season, though a variety of injuries has limited the Cardinals outfielder to 436 PA and 106 games.
  • Due to what the team described as “general soreness,” Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard won’t throw any simulated innings today, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports.  Syndergaard threw three innings in a minor league rehab start on Thursday and was supposed to toss some simulated frames today in the latest step of his recovery process.  Syndergaard has missed much of the season due to a partially torn lat muscle, and with the Mets out of contention and few games left on the schedule, any sort of notable setback could end Syndergaard’s chances of returning to the mound in 2017.
  • Andrew Heaney left his start last night during the third inning due to shoulder tightness, though the Angels right-hander tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register and other reporters that he’s “not very concerned” about the injury.  Heaney only just returned from Tommy John rehab in August and has made five starts (to a 7.06 ERA in 21 2/3 IP) for the Halos.  A shoulder issue is less of a red flag than an elbow or forearm problem given Heaney’s history, and he said he hopes to soon resume throwing.
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