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All things considered, Willson Contreras is having a really nice season. He’s second among catchers with a 2.8 WAR. His power numbers are down across the board but his OPS is still .782, well above average for a catcher.
But the last month has been ugly.
Over the last 30 days he’s hit just two home runs, with a .676 OPS and 26.1 K% over 88 plate appearances. In his last 10 games it’s been even worse, slashing .147/.237/.147 with a 34.2 K%.
What could be at the root of this slump? Well, the Cubs have played 30 games since the all-star break, and Contreras has had to start 24 of them. Most catchers would probably only have 20ish starts in that span, and Contreras could use extra rest more than anyone as he leads the majors in innings caught.
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No matter how real Contreras’ struggles are, just having his arm behind the plate makes him a massive upgrade over his backup Victor Caratini. Caratini has probably been the worst full-time position player in the Joe Maddon era. The Cubs can’t afford to play the rookie backstop regularly in the heat of a pennant race.
Last season when Contreras hit the disabled list in August, the Cubs made a trade for Rene Rivera to help Alex Avila with the catching duties. They need to make a similar move ASAP.
Rivera himself should probably be the Cubs number one target. The veteran catcher is healthy after battling an injury earlier this season and has posted impressive offensive numbers since he returned. The Cubs need a player like that to provide consistent value when Contreras sits, while also allowing Contreras to get more than 7-9 innings off a week.
