The Chicago Cubs are in a serious deficit ahead of Tuesday’s deadline and will likely trade players. There are many names in the rumors and the team is getting more and more tenuous.
The Cubs have reportedly placed catcher Tomos Nido on the 10-day IL with a knee sprain. The change is retroactive to July 25. In his place, the Cubs acquired catcher Christian Bethancourt’s contract from Triple-A Iowa. Finally, the Cubs placed RHP Ben Brown on the 60-day IL to make room for Bethancourt on the 40-man roster.
Although he was good, Amaya’s batting improved after he made the switch.
With the Cubs, Nido only batted .128/.143/.234 with minimal offensive output. It shouldn’t be hard to replace that performance, but Nido’s placement on the disabled list was a real loss for the chemistry he had built with the pitching staff. As for Bethancourt, the veteran signed a minor league contract in early July. The veteran has played nine seasons in the MLB and would be a nice addition to the Cubs. Bethancourt didn’t do anything special with the Miami Marlins in 2024, but he had good seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2022 and 2023. The Panama native will share backroom duties with Amaya going forward.
Ben Brown’s inclusion on the 60-day IL is certainly disappointing for Cubs fans, but Brown has been out since early June. It’s still possible he could return in early August and shock the pitching staff. But there’s still big concern about Brown’s health as of mid-July. If he continues to develop positively, he could return sometime this season. At this point, though, it feels like a big “if.”
The Cubs open a three-game series at Kansas City on Friday night. Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks will take the mound to face Royals RHP Brady Singer.