Cubs Place Veteran Catcher on Concussion Injured List

Well, after being out of the starting lineup following Monday's game, it sure did seem like this would ultimately be the end result for veteran catcher Yan Gomes. Prior to Wednesday's game against the Washington Nationals, the Cuba placed Gomes on the seven-day concussion injured list.

Right-handed pitcher Javier Assad was called up to take Gomes' spot on the team's active roster. The IL stint for Gomes is retroactive to Tuesday.

Tucker Barnhart is starting behind the plate for the second game in a row for the Cubs. On Tuesday, the Cubs called up 24-year-old Miguel Amaya, the team's top catching prospect. Amaya began the 2023 season at Double-A and was the only other catcher on the team's 40-man roster after Luis Torrens was designated for assignment last Friday. On Wednesday, the Cubs traded Torrens to the Baltimore Orioles for cash considerations.

Gomes took a blow off his helmet in the first inning on Monday, when a Jeimer Candelario backswing got Gomes behind the plate. Gomes took his at-bat in the second inning, striking out against Nationals’ starter MacKenzie Gore and then was taken out of the game heading into the bottom of the second inning.

Head injuries are always scary even if it doesn’t look like a major blow at first. The Cubs obviously saw something when Gomes was back in the dugout and they were proactive to protect the 12-year veteran catcher.

Gomes, 35, entered Monday’s game with a .299/.314/.537 slash line, crushing five home runs in 18 games to begin the season. You obviously hope that Gomes will be OK because catchers take several hits to the head on foul tips and like we saw in the series opener in Washington, a backswing will also get them from time to time.

The Cubs are definitely going to take a step down without Gomes in the next week. It hasn’t just been the good offensive production from him that has been impressive so far in 2023, it’s the way Gomes has handled the pitching staff that has been key to the team’s early success. After the month of April, Cubs pitchers recorded a 3.00 ERA throwing to Gomes in 147 innings, including 16 starts.

As for Amaya's playing time, he'll probably only get a start or two until Gomes returns. While there are big hopes for Amaya to be the catcher of the future for the Cubs, he is barely returning to catching full time after having Tommy John surgery a few years ago. Amaya did not catch after coming back from the elbow surgery in 2022, and so far this year Amaya caught a total of 11 games. In 2021, he only started 12 games behind the plate, as injuries limited his playing time that year.

Meanwhile, Assad is up for the third time this season. He began the year in the bullpen, but after two rough outings he was sent to Triple-A. He made a spot start on April 20, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, allowing two runs in three innings. The right-hander last pitched on Sunday for the Iowa Cubs. It was the best he's looked this year, striking out six, walking none and giving up only three hits in 4.2 scoreless innings.