Chicago Cubs Linked to Former World Series Champion Catcher in MLB Free Agency

While the Chicago Cubs posted another disappointing season with a second consecutive 83-79 record and a fourth straight missed postseason, there are certainly some encouraging pieces to like.

Chicago had one of the better starting rotations in baseball along with boasting one of the most talent rich farm systems across the entire league, giving fans hope that better days are ahead. One of the heartening parts of the 2024 roster with regards to young talent was the Cubs’ second-year catcher Miguel Amaya, who played in his first full season this year after playing 53 games in 2023.

There were ups and downs for Amaya, but after a July benching he wound up turning it around and finishing the season extremely strong on the offensive side of the ball. Despite Amaya’s turnaround, the consensus surrounding Chicago at the position was that they need to add a catcher to the platoon or at the very least bring in a veteran who can spell the young Amaya. Jordan Campbell of Cubbies Crib named an intriguing option in Atlanta Braves free agent Travis d’Arnaud after the team declined his $8 million option.

“There was some surprise that the Atlanta Braves declined his $8MM club option for the 2025 season,” Campbell wrote. “d’Arnaud certainly has the power that is much-needed for this Cubs’ lineup and his veteran presence may help with not only Amaya but the young pitchers making their way to the Major League level.”

d’Arnaud is coming off another solid season with the Braves, having posted numbers for the full season that would have been better than Amaya without factoring in the tear the youngster went on down the stretch. An All-Star in 2022 and helping Atlanta to a World Series title in 2021 along with a Silver Slugger award in the shortened 2020 season, d’Arnaud has been consistently one of the better offensive catchers in the league for a long time now.

Seeing the Braves let him go for a seven-figure option was a bit of a head scratcher, but there’s no reason why the Cubs couldn’t be the beneficiary of the move. d’Arnaud is valued by Spotrac at an even higher AVV than what Atlanta denied, so the kind of contract he now lands will be fascinating to see. Regardless, he would not break the bank and would tremendously upgrade the position for Chicago.