Cubs Catcher Report Card: Kelly led Chicago's most improved position

Kiyoshi Mio - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 16 hours ago

As disappointing as it is for the Cubs to be eliminated from the playoffs, there is still so much to be proud of about that team. Not only did they win at least 90 games for the first time since 2018, but they also made the playoffs for the first time since the 2020 COVID series, as that was the beginning of the end for the previous core group of players.

Their series win over the Padres was also the Cubs' first playoff series win since defeating the Nationals in 2017, so it has been a long time coming for many of their accomplishments. Their next goal is to build on this season's success, add to their roster, and try to make an even deeper run in 2026 as they have plenty of pieces in place to make things happen.

With their season officially over, it's time to step back and review the season that was, as today marks the beginning of our season report card series. Every day, we will break down a different position on this team and grade it based on its performance.

First up is the catcher position, and when you talk about a position that stepped up for this team, the catcher position has to be at the top of the list. Coming off a horrendous 2024 season in terms of production from the catcher position, the Cubs knew they needed to get more from that spot. Not only did they do that, but they were in the top five in all of baseball in terms of the production they received from their catchers this season.

Carson Kelly

When it was announced that the Cubs were adding Carson Kelly to their roster on a multi-year deal, it was about as slam-dunk a signing as you could have. Kelly was seen as the top free agent catcher on the market, and given the lack of production that the Cubs had from the catcher position in 2024, he was expected to provide them with far more production from a backup role.

What they got from Kelly was more than anyone could've expected, as Kelly began the season as the Cubs' backup catcher, only to take over as the team's primary backstop in May. Most of that came from the Miguel Amaya injury, but Kelly got off to such a hot start in April as he had nine homers in the team's first 45 games that his production alone earned him more playing time.

Granted, he did cool off as the year went on, but he started to pick things up again in September to put an exclamation point on a great overall season. For the year, Kelly hovered around .250 to finish with a .249 average, adding 17 homers and 50 RBIs for one of his best seasons as a pro.

Grade A -: It's hard to ignore the impact that Kelly had on the team this season. Not only did he do a great job controlling the running game, but no one expected him to have the production he had at the plate, as he produced like a top catcher. There are questions about whether he can produce like that again next season, but even if his production goes down, he will still be one of the better backup catchers in the game.

Miguel Amaya

Out of all of the Cubs' injuries this season, you have to feel for Amaya the most among the Cubs' position players. Amaya came into the 2025 season riding a strong finish to 2024 and was looking to turn the corner in 2025 to emerge as the team's top catcher.

Throughout the first month of the season, you started to see those signs from Amaya as he continued to build off the strong end to 2024 and picked things up where he left off. Then came a costly oblique injury that kept him out for more than three months, only to return for a game and miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury suffered during their series in Toronto.

Even with less than 30 games and under 100 at-bats this season, Amaya made the most of his playing time, hitting .281 with four homers and 25 RBIs. It would've been interesting to see what those numbers looked like had he played a full season, as the bar will be even higher for him in 2026.

Grade B-: It's hard to punish any player for an injury, but in this case, his injury will affect his grade a little bit. Still, the overall production he put forth in such a limited sample size is worth noting, as Amaya was playing like an all-star up until his injury and gave the Cubs one of the best catching tandems in the game.

Reese McGuire

When you talk about catching tandems, thank god for Reese McGuire, as he proved to be one of the Cubs' biggest steals of the offseason. Signed to a Minor League deal in January, McGuire got off to a strong start for AAA Iowa, only to be called up when Amaya went down with an injury.

Not expected to do much once he got called up, McGuire not only forced his way into the lineup based on his play, but also emerged as another solid depth signing for Jed Hoyer as he helped stabilize the catcher position for the final three months of the season. Across 126 at-bats this season, McGuire made the most of his chances as he connected for nine homers and 26 RBIs despite hitting just .226.

That gave the Cubs 30 combined homers from the catcher position after hitting just 13 last season, and that alone ranked in the top three in baseball in terms of production. The next question will be whether McGuire will return to the Cubs organization next season, or if they will roll out Kelly and Amaya once again.

Grade B: McGuire is one of the rare cases where a low average doesn't affect his overall grade. This player was signed to a minor league contract with the expectation of splitting time with Moises Ballesteros and Carlos Perez in AAA. He was doing that the first six weeks of the season, but once Amaya went down, he was thrown into the majors without a real play of attack.

At first, it appeared that he would start one game a week, but once he began to produce, it was hard to keep him on the bench that long as he began to see two and sometimes three starts a week down the stretch to spell Kelly.