Chicago Cubs: Make Kyle Schwarber catch again?
Now that Kyle Schwarber is recovered from his knee injury, should the Chicago Cubs put him back behind the plate?
Kyle Schwabrer’s comeback for the Chicago Cubs during the World Series from a devastating leg injury was one of the many great stories from the 2016 postseason. Schwarber hit .412 with a .971 OPS in the World Series and made the Cubs lineup look quite different. There’s no question that the guy can rake, but the Cubs are so deep that he doesn’t really have a position.
Schwarber was a catcher in college, but the Cubs have Willson Contreras and Miguel Montero. Schwarber played some left field when he came up but Ben Zobrist is going to be spending some time in left field with the emergence of Javier Baez at second base.
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Schwarber now wants to return to catcher.
“I’d like to see have the opportunity (to catch),” said Schwarber, who performed designated-hitter and pinch-hitting duties in the World Series. “If it comes, it comes. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. But I’m going to fight.”“There’s a lot of prep work I’ve done,” Schwarber, who used an outfielder’s glove exclusively during his photo/film session with New Era cap company, said. “(The Cubs) have a plan. I’m going to follow the plan, but I’m going to stick to my guns (to catch).”
The Cubs have two pretty good defensive catchers. Per Statcorner, Montero was the third best catcher, while Contreras was also above average. Schwarber wasn’t exactly a great defensive outfielder. In 2015 was -3 DRS in left and we all saw what happened in the NLCS vs the Mets.
The Cubs refused to part with Schwarber in trade talks for bullpen help during the season and instead used Gleyber Torres to get Aroldis Chapman and then Jorge Soler to get Wade Davis this off-season. They clearly value Schwarber as a part of the team moving forward.
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Schwarber is a guy without a position and probably better off as a DH in the American League. However, I can’t see the Cubs dealing him. Because of that, it wouldn’t shock me if Schwarber did catch a few games for the Cubs in 2017. Injuries happen, so it’s certainly possible. Secondly, Joe Maddon values defensive versatility more than any other manager in the game.
I could see Schwarber playing in left against most righties and then sitting against lefties with Baez and Zobrist or even Contreras playing left at that point.