Cubs Place Miguel Amaya on IL, Select Reese McGuire to Roster

After spanking the Reds in the series opener, the Cubs got beaten in the second game to even the series. Making matters worse, they added injury to insult when Miguel Amaya left the game due to an oblique strain in the bottom of the 5th inning. Rather than playing shorthanded like they do in so many of these cases, an option that wasn’t viable due to the positional need, they made the immediate decision to place Amaya on the IL.

And rather than going with Moisés Ballesteros in what would have been a very limited role, they’re opting for 30-year-old Reese McGuire. The veteran has spent parts of seven seasons with the Blue Jays and Sox of both colors, at times displaying a nice stroke at the plate. That’s been the case for him at Triple-A Iowa, where he’s compiled an .827 OPS and whacked three homers.

While the knee-jerk reaction might be to make this about the team’s opinion of Ballesteros as a catcher, it’s more about giving him regular at-bats. I mean, yeah, the Cubs probably aren’t super comfortable with the idea of the young backstop getting as many reps as Amaya, but going with any injury replacement means Carson Kelly will get more playing time.

McGuire was not on the 40-man roster, but the Cubs didn’t need to make a procedural move to clear space because they still had a spot open following Nicky Lopez‘s DFA.