Cubs Don't Call Up Top Catching Prospect to Replace Miguel Amaya

The Chicago Cubs have officially placed Miguel Amaya on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain, but they're not calling up top catching prospect Moises Ballesteros to replace him on the 26-man roster. Instead, veteran Reese McGuire has been selected from Triple-A.

McGuire has had an interesting 10 days or so, as he was recently released by the organization only to re-sign with the Cubs less than a week later. Now, McGuire is back in the majors.

Today's roster moves: pic.twitter.com/KncizgtVXL

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 25, 2025

The 30-year-old played in 53 games with the Boston Red Sox during the 2024 season. The left-handed hitter slashed .209/.280/.295, with three home runs in 158 plate appearances. In his career, McGuire has posted an 80 wRC+ with a career .664 OPS.

So far at Triple-A this season, McGuire has put up good numbers at the plate. He slashed .280/.360/.467, with three home runs in 86 plate appearances.

While some Cubs fans may be disappointed that Ballesteros wasn't the catcher called up from Triple-A, they have to consider that at his current developmental process behind the plate he's most likely not ready to catch on a semi-regular basis at the major league level. Also, now that Ian Happ is back and Seiya Suzuki and Kyle Tucker are splitting DH starts, it's not like Craig Counsell was going to put Ballesteros in the lineup over those guys.

There's no good in calling up Ballesteros and having him sit on the bench six out of seven games. That does him no good.

Sure, you're not expecting much from McGuire offensively, but you know he can handle an MLB pitching staff when he does start in place of Carson Kelly. McGuire made his MLB debut back in 2018, and has played in 354 MLB games since.

Kelly and Amaya were close to a 50/50 split in starts behind the plate so far this season, but now that Amaya is sidelined I'd expect that Kelly will start most games. McGuire may only get 1-2 starts per week.

The Cubs will know more about Amaya's oblique injury later next week.

(Previous Update)

The Cubs are about to take a significant downgrade behind the plate as catcher Miguel Amaya is headed to the injured list.

Amaya was taken out of Saturday's game against the Reds after he made a throw to second base, trying to throw out Elly De La Cruz in the fifth inning.

Following the 6-4 loss, Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters that Amaya will be placed on the 10-day injured list. Once again, the Cubs are dealing with an oblique issue.

Amaya, alongside Carson Kelly, have paired up to produce a 157 wRC+ this season, the highest mark among catchers from all 30 teams in the league. Amaya is slashing .280/.313/.505, with 4 home runs and 25 RBI this season in 27 games.

Kelly, who was a monster at the plate during the month of April, has cooled off a bit, but he's still slashing .301/.425/.612, after he went 2-for-2 off the bench on Saturday, including his 9th home run of the season. He will now player a bigger role with the Cubs during Amaya's absence.

For those thinking that Amaya's injury means catching prospect Moises Ballesteros will be called up, they'll most likely end up disappointed. It appears as though veteran backup Reese McGuire might be the one traveling to Cincinnati for the series finale on Sunday to take Amaya's roster spot.

McGuire has played in 22 games with the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A this season and was noticeably out of the starting lineup Saturday night, hinting at his promotion.

We'll see what the official move is on Sunday, but it does look like the Cubs want the experience behind the plate instead of relying on Ballesteros to start at catcher at the major-league level when he's still a work in progress defensively.

As for Amaya, he sounded pretty dejected after Saturday's game.

A brutal hit to the Cubs and for Amaya. You're talking about a guy who had to re-invent himself offensively halfway through the 2024 season and he completely turned his career around.

Hopefully the test results come back with good news. Ian Happ recently missed the minimum 10 days on the IL with a minor oblique issue, so fingers crossed that it's a similar timeline for Amaya. If not, that's a pretty significant downgrade at catcher whenever Kelly has an off day.