Buckle Up! Hot Stove is Warming and Contreras Will Be Popular

One of the hardest positions to find a long-term solution at is catcher. Perhaps the most defensive centric position in the the game has mostly been ignored by today’s front offices. Normally, if you have one of these guys you should hold onto them and do so with the power of a GI-Joe Kung-foo grip.

The Chicago Cubs have three such players, which allows them to potentially shop one of them this winter. And while there are several teams with a need at catcher (ahem Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres among others) the catcher inventory just got smaller.

The Chicago White Sox just did the Cubs a huge favor (inadvertently) by signing Yasmani Grandal to a four-year $73 million deal. This virtually eliminates the potential for a difference-making catcher being signed in free agency. Well, unless you like someone from this list.

• Robinson Chirinos (36, 2.3 WAR)
• Jason Castro (33, 1.6)
• Travis d’Arnaud (31, 1.6)
• Alex Avila (33, 1.3)
• Russell Martin (37, 1.2)
• Austin Romine (31, 0.9)
• Stephen Vogt (35, 0.9)
• Martín Maldonado (33, 0.8)
• Yan Gomes (32, 0.8)
• Francisco Cervelli (34, 0.1)
• René Rivera (36, 0.0)
• Nick Hundley (36, -0.3)
• Matt Wieters (34, -0.3)
• Bryan Holaday (32, -0.3)
• Drew Butera (36, -0.5)
• Jonathan Lucroy (34, -0.5)
• Chris Iannetta (37, -0.5)
• Welington Castillo (33, -1.0)

This list, and the Cubs having a plethora OT catchers, allows the organization to dangle some of their assets out for others to drool over. Just look at the Cubs depth at the position.

• Willson Contreras (2x All Star)
• Victor Caratini (.794 OPS)
• Jhonny Pereda (2019 Gold Glove)
• Miguel Amaya (Cubs #2 prospect, MLB Top 100, Top 10 Catching prospect)
• Ethan Hearn (Cubs #17 prospect)
• Ronnier Quintero (Top ranked international catching prospect)

While I don’t advocate selling the best offensive catcher in baseball, there are several organizations with a ton of prospects to unload and the giant need at the position. So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Willson Contreras’s name will be involved in a lot of rumors this offseason. Honestly though, trading him offers the Cubs a much larger return than entertaining offers on anyone else on the roster. That includes Javier Baez and Kris Bryant.

That might be seen as a bold statement, but really it isn’t. There are probably 2-3 teams that both have the pieces and need for a third baseman, and the questions around Bryant’s signability and his grievance make him a risky option. Baez, as dynamic as he is, isn’t seen as the difference maker around baseball. He still has a lot of zero-sum results, pitchers can gameplan against him, and he’s as likely to have a .900 OPS season as he is to have a .780 OPS season. He’s incredible, but can also be minimalized in a lineup. Maybe if a team strikes out trying to acquire Francisco Lindor, they may overpay for Baez, but I just don’t see it.

With all of this, if the Cubs are really looking to reload via trades, Contreras makes MORE sense than any other player on the roster to shop. Again, I’d rather they not, but it might be the best chance at building the next championship in Chicago.