It’s Tuesday night here at BCB After Dark: the hippest hangout for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in out of the fall air. The vibe is warm in here. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. We still have a few tables available. Bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party
started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
Last night I asked you if the Cubs should try to sign free agent left-hander Adrián Morejón as a starting pitcher? Now earlier today, The Athletic reported that contrary to some earlier reports, Morejón wants to stay a relief pitcher. So maybe I asked a dumb question. (Did you know that “dumb” is spelled with a “b”? Most people don’t know that.) But in any case, 56 percent of you thought it was worth it to offer Morejón a role as a starting pitcher to get him to sign with the Cubs.
On Tuesday nights, I don’t normally do any movie stuff. But I always have time for music, so please join us around the piano.
Tonight we have a performance from guitarist John Scofield, backed up by the Danish Radio Big Band. This is “Boogie Stupid” from 2019. This performance should appeal to those who like blues and funk as much as jazz heads.
Welcome back from the piano. And the guitar and the brass section.
Sahadev Sharma in The Athletic has reported a lot of things that have gotten people upset, but I want to focus on things that won’t raise everyone’s blood pressure around here. One thing Sharma wrote in his most recent piece is that the Cubs haven’t ruled out a return of Carson Kelly, but are prepared to go into 2027 with Miguel Amaya and rookie Owen Ayers as their catching team. (shared link)
That’s a lot of faith in Ayers, who still has yet to make his major league debut. The Cubs did bring him to Chicago after Iowa’s season concluded, but that was because they wanted him to get a feel for what the job of a major league catcher is like first hand. They wanted Ayers to sit in on the meetings with the coaching staff, Kelly and Amaya and pick their brains. I suppose that Ayers would have been activated if Kelly or Amaya had gotten hurt, but the primary reason he was with the Cubs for the end of the season and the playoffs was to prepare him to take over major league catching duties sometime next year.
Now I agree that Ayers is a fine prospect. Baseball America just ranked him as the Cubs’ number-two prospect (behind Josiah Hartshorn) and I happen to agree with that ranking. He’s got a great arm and made huge strides in the rest of his defensive game last season. He’s got some power as he hit 25 home runs last year and he has a good eye at the plate with a .403 on-base percentage.
However, there are some caveats to those numbers. (Not the arm. The arm is plus anywhere.) For one, most of those huge offensive numbers were put up in High-A South Bend and Double-A Knoxville. Last year, the minor league baseball was a rabbit ball, with offensive totals up everywhere. When Ayers got to Triple-A Iowa, where they use the less-lively major league baseball, Ayers’ offensive totals were more ordinary. Over 49 games in Triple-A, Ayers only hit .247/.365/.356 with only three home runs. That doesn’t translate into great major league numbers. Looking at the early Steamer projections from Fangraphs, Ayers is only projected to hit a below-average .224/.299/.370 at the major league level, although they do project a plus Wins Above Replacement because of Ayers’ defensive chops.
So tonight I’m going to give you three options on what to do behind the plate. One, the Cubs could stick with the status quo and go with Amaya and Ayers sharing the catching duties.
Option two would be re-signing Kelly, which would probably keep Ayers down in Iowa until one of the two major league catchers got hurt or Ayers simply forced his way onto the roster with a strong season in Triple-A. Or, less desirably, that Kelly or Amaya played their ways off the roster.
Finally, the third option is to get a disposable veteran catcher in free agency or trade such as Austin Hedges or Kyle Higashioka and go with the new guy and Amaya until Ayers has proven that he’s too good for Iowa.
Which route would you choose?
Thanks for everyone who stopped by tonight. We enjoyed hosting you. Get home safely. Stay warm. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow evening for more BCB After Dark.
