Miguel

Amaya

Amaya had been in a 2-for-27 funk coming into this game, and he broke out in a big way. It’s somehow the second triple of the year from the not-so-speedy backstop, and he added a pair of run-scoring singles for good measure.

Amaya is batting .344 (31-for-90) with five homers and 19 RBI in 31 games dating back to July 7 when he made a mechanical adjustment to his swing, switching to a toe tap instead of a leg kick. The results have been off the metaphorical charts as he’s stacked up four multi-hit performances over his last five contests since August 22. Given his recent swing adjustment, and sizzling-hot stretch at the dish, Amaya is at least worthy of a speculative fantasy roster spot, especially in deeper mixed leagues and two-catcher formats.

Amaya cleared the bases with a bases-loaded roundtripper off Kenta Maeda to make it 4-0. That’s the sixth homer of the season for the backstop, and that homer along with a run-scoring single in the seventh gives him 29 RBI on the season. Amaya has some long-term potential, but has hit just .221/.277/.333 for the 2024 campaign.

Amaya led off the fifth inning with a single off of Miles Mikolas, then came around to score the go-ahead run on an RBI knock off the bat of Michael Busch. He then greeted Ryan Fernandez in the sixth inning with a 390-foot (97.7-mph EV) solo shot that extended the Cubs’ lead to 6-2. The 25-year-old backstop is having a rough season overall at the dish, slashing a mere .216/.278/.310 with just four homers and 20 RBI.

The 25-year-old backstop clobbered a game-tying 404-foot (101.6 mph EV) two-run shot off of Kyle Gibson in the second inning. He also worked a pair of walks in the ballgame, finishing the day 1-for-2 officially. On the season, he’s now slashing .201/.266/.288 with three homers and 18 RBI on the season.

He made a bad out on the basepaths, but we won’t worry about that. The multi-hit game is first since May 28. The Cubs held him out for three straight games to work on his swing some. For one day, at least, it seemed to pay off.

It’s hard not to think that Yan Gomes would still be with the Cubs if Amaya weren’t hitting so badly that the team felt it had to make some sort of change. Amaya is currently at .192/.251/.263 in 184 plate appearances. Statcast believes he’s been quite unlucky, but just to the point at which he should be merely significantly below average, rather than having the sixth worst OPS among all players with 150 plate appearances.

The end can come quickly sometimes. The usually solid Gomes actually performed a little better than his career norms at age 35 last season, but he’s really slipped both offensively and defensively this year. Nido won’t help with the offense, but he is an excellent defender and he might cut into Miguel Amaya’s playing time some.

Amaya’s homer projected at 374 feet and would have gone out of 10 ballparks, according to Statcast. In spite of Amaya’s struggles offensively — he’s batting .184/.248/.297 — the Cubs have continued to give him most of the starts behind the plate. Yan Gomes has gotten the nod in just one of the team’s last six games.

The slam off Tanner Bibee was Amaya’s first homer. The 25-year-old Amaya slumped down the stretch last year and still has something to prove if he wants to be assured of taking over from Yan Gomes as the Cubs’ starting catcher in 2025. He should play a little more than the typical backup this year, but he’s still clearly behind Gomes for now.