Almost as soon as last season was over Chicago CubsThere was already information about a singular position that they were looking to upgrade during the winter months.

It was no secret that catcher was a major issue for them in terms of offensive productivity.

Despite moving Yan Gomes to a backup role behind Miguel Amaya, this duo could not perform close to the league average in attack. This prompted the Cubs to eventually release the veteran and replace him with Tomas Nido as the No. 2 pick.

It worked for a while, but things continued to be a problem as Amaya still couldn’t find his way in his first year as a full-time starter, until they signed Christian Bethancourt when Nido got injured.

However, with Bethancourt opting for free agencyThere is now a clear need for Chicago to find someone who can bring an offensive element to the game.

There’s a lot of optimism about star prospect Moises Ballesteros coming through his pipeline last season, reaching Triple-A and continuing to excel despite the age gap, but the Cubs don’t seem ready to promote him. They’re still big.

Signing another free agent seems like the most likely option Travis d’Arnaud is a real possibilityBut when it comes to the future of their fourth-place candidate, Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma Athletic He presented a bombshell report.

“As for Moises Ballesteros, the Cubs are probably more optimistic than they were a year ago about his chances of being a major-league catcher. However, the club is still unsure of his chances of projecting as an everyday catcher in the future. However, he still doubts his offensive potential, occasionally working as a catcher.” “Perhaps there could be a valuable role as a designated hitter, creating more roster options and better matchups,” they wrote.

This is definitely interesting.

There’s no doubt that Ballesteros’ bat is well ahead of where he is defensively, something Chicago knew when they signed him as an international free agent, so perhaps they think he can add some pizzazz to the offense as a hitter while still getting some reps down the stretch. number plate.

But this can also harm its development.

If the Cubs call him up to the Majors and don’t give him the experience he needs to continue his development, it may not allow him to ever reach his ceiling of being an elite two-way catcher.

This will be something to watch throughout next season as Chicago figures out what it wants to do with the 21-year-old rising star.