The Chicago Cubs added Gold Glove-winning catcher Tucker Barnhart in MLB free agency this winter following the loss of Willson Contreras to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Is Barnhart the same caliber of hitter as Contreras? No.
Should the Cubs be ranked 28 of 30 in terms of strength at the catcher's position? Probably not.
But, that is exactly where FanGraphs has placed Chicago in their latest positional rankings just released.
FanGraphs states that Barnhart is nothing but a 'stopgap' for the Cubs at the position and that his numbers at the plate, which haven't been great, aren't due for a rebound.
Yan Gomes is mentioned in the same breath as not having great offensive numbers, but his performance the last few seasons, along with analytics, seems to indicate a bounce back of some sort.
"Yan Gomes had struggles similar to Barnhart’s in 2022 backing up Contreras in Chicago," Dan Szymborski writes. "But he has actually hit in recent years, enough that the projections generally see some sort of bounce back as likely.
Either way, FanGraphs concludes that when the Cubs are "back in serious contention, it’s doubtful that either of them will play much of a part in it."
That final part is probably a fair assessment, but this group of catchers is nearly ideal for the rotation and pitching staff that they currently posses that's comprised of younger players.
Having these two veterans as your backstops might not be the sexy move, but it goes a long way in helping develop the future of the franchise's pitching.
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