It should surprise no one that the 2019 Chicago Cubs should not run Willson Contreras out to the field 138 times. Or perhaps more specifically, run him out there four, five, six times a week for a month and a half throughout the season. With how much Contreras was used, it impacted his overall effectiveness, and certainly factored into a stale Cubs offense later in the season.
Yes, the Cubs did have Victor Caratini in 2018, and will again in 2019. They (the Cubs) have however expressed the idea that using him the same way in 2019 as they did in 2018 would be a disservice to his overall development. He is a guy that needs 12-18 plate appearances a week. In his current role he just isn’t getting that.
That leads to the Cubs potentially looking to the market for a veteran backup.
That search, unless the Cubs are willing to discuss a trade, will have one name circled – Martín Maldonado.
Maldonado isn’t a star. He isn’t going to hit 15 homers. Maldonado isn’t even going to get on base much. But he is going to provide a great veteran backup that will be an asset to a veteran pitching staff. He also has been near the top of Cubs fans lists as a backup all offseason. More importantly, he is one of the best defensive catchers in baseball and it is strange he hasn’t had much interest.
In this story, @RyanDivish writes that Martin Maldonado is "holding out hope for the protection of a full major-league guarantee."
That's one of the 3-5 best defensive catchers in MLB with basically no interest. Ridiculous.https://t.co/hP5XwclLLq pic.twitter.com/gkJMWdE9sC
— Steve Adams (@Adams_Steve) February 21, 2019
That is all the club really needs out of Maldonado, a guy that the veterans will trust and someone that will spell Contreras.
Why not?
The problem with signing Maldonado, or anyone else for that matter, is, whatever the contract is, they will cost an extra 32% due to the luxury tax. Currently the Cubs are more than $20 million over the $206 million Competitive Balance Tax number. For being over they are taxed 20% and then an extra 12% for being between $20 million and $40 million over the CBT.
So if there was a deal for Maldonado, in a similar quantity as he made in 2018 ($3.9 million) that would essentially be a $5,150,000 deal. That is certainly too much for his services.
The other reason, the Cubs might be ready to lean on Caratini much more in 2019.
“We like Vic a lot — he did a great job with Hamels last year at the end,” Cubs GM Jed Hoyer said. “All the guys like throwing to him. He studies reports, he’s in there all the time, he prepares. Most backups are older. He doesn’t see himself as a backup, but he understands his role now and he prepares well.
“In that role, if the guys see you preparing, that’s how you earn the trust of the pitchers and he did a good job with that.”
If the guy is putting in the work, which being a backup catcher can be more work that starting, then he could be a lower cost option. The fear is stunting his overall growth though. This is a dude that had a plus bat in the minor leagues and only slashed .232/.293/.304 in 2018. The Cubs have the need for a legitimate backup catcher, but should that come at the expense of the growth of a player?
