The Braves may have just given Jed Hoyer the catching solution he so desperately needed

The 2024 season did not go as planned for the Chicago Cubs. They entered the year with high expectations and were arguably the favorites to win the NL Central, but ultimately missed the postseason for the fifth straight 162-game season (excluding 2020).

Several reasons can be attributed to the Cubs having a disappointing season, but one clear weakness of the 2024 Cubs was the catcher position. Cubs catchers ranked 26th in the majors with a 69 wRC+ and 29th in the majors with -0.1 fWAR. The only team among them was the Chicago White Sox – the team that just completed the worst season in modern baseball history.

Miguel Amaya finished quite strong and Christian Bethancourt was a surprise spark plug for the Cubs behind the plate down the stretch, but neither should be given the reins to start for a team trying to make the postseason with their track records in mind . Knowing this, it makes perfect sense to bring in external amplification. The Atlanta Braves may have just given the Cubs an attractive option.

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The Braves made a surprising decision on Monday, declining Travis d’Arnaud’s club option. What made this surprising was that the option was only worth $8 million, a very reasonable amount for a player of his caliber. Now he is a free agent and can sign with any of the 30 teams. A team like the Cubs might be at the top of his list.

In what was an overall disappointing season for the Braves, d’Arnaud was largely solid for Atlanta, hitting .238/.302/.436 with 15 home runs and 48 RBI in 99 games played. His 103 OPS+ suggests he was slightly above league average as a hitter, which is very solid for a catcher.

The Cubs lacked any production close to what d’Arnaud gave the Braves, so signing him would be a no-brainer. Due to the fact that the free agency market consists of Kyle Higashioka, Danny Jansen and not much else, it’s a huge win for Chicago if d’Arnaud joins. Even if the Cubs don’t land d’Arnaud, they have a better chance of signing a valuable catcher, filling a major hole in the process.

For the Cubs to show major improvement in 2025, a big offseason is needed. One of the points that needs to be addressed is the catcher position. The Braves may have simply let the best one available hit the open market so Jed Hoyer could dive in.