Like almost every year, this winter’s free-agent class features a number of well-known backstops. But when you’re a team like the Chicago Cubs and you’re in desperate need of impact talent at the position, legitimate answers in free agency this offseason are few and far between.
Having experienced the downside of giving catchers in their mid-30s multi-year deals with Yan Gomes’ precipitous decline in 2024, Chicago will have a good chance of avoiding that mistake this winter. That takes a number of familiar names in that age group off the table: James McCann, Travis d’Arnaud (if the Braves don’t pick up his option), Kyle Higashioka, Jacob Stallings, Curt Casali and Sandy Leon, to name a few.
This weekend, we learned that the Cubs wanted Angels backstop Logan O’Hoppe but were unsuccessful in their efforts — and Sahadev Sharma (subscription required) of The Athletic believes a Michael Busch-style trade could be a path to a legitimate long-term solution, but acknowledges that it comes with a lot of question marks and competition, as impactful catchers are scarce in today’s game.
So if that doesn’t work out and Hoyer is forced to hit free agency, he could quickly become uncomfortable. Names like Carson Kelly, Danny Jansen and Elias Diaz could make sense – because right now the Cubs see Miguel Amaya as their backup. If he proves them wrong, great, but after the team’s total underperformance at the position this year, they can’t use him again in 2025.
But much like the transfer market, there will be competition for the services of these guys. How far will Hoyer go to secure the position? We could find out soon, as it is the team’s top priority with only months to go before things really get going.
