Report: Willson Contreras Likely to Miss 4 Weeks

According to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers, Willson Contreras is likely to miss 4 weeks with a hamstring injury suffered Saturday against the Brewers. It’s sort of a good news/bad news situation, since it’s neither season ending nor a short window. And hamstrings can be tricky, so the Cubs are surely going to be cautious with this.

Source indicates Willson Contreras likely out 4 weeks with a hamstring injury.

— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) August 5, 2019

As you no doubt remember, Contreras missed a month at almost the exact same point of the 2017 season with almost the exact same injury. There’s no reason to doubt his ability to come back just as strong this time as he did two years ago, but the Cubs are going to miss his bat in the meantime.

Lucky for them, Victor Caratini has performed admirably as a backup and has quietly elevated his defense behind the plate. Even so, the Cubs may look for external help rather than rely on Caratini and Taylor Davis. While there’s no chance for waiver trades this season, Jonathan Lucroy’s name has come up since the Angels designated him for assignment recently.

There are some moving parts to that, though, as claiming him would mean paying the remaining $1 million or so on his $3.35 million deal. A pittance under most circumstances, this is a Cubs team that reportedly had to get special clearance from ownership to close their deadline trades.

That’s a different story if and when Lucroy clears waivers, since he could sign with whomever he wants for a prorated portion of the MLB minimum. Even the frugal Cubs can afford $165,000, right? Of course, that assumes Lucroy would choose to sign with them should that situation come to pass.

Keep an eye on this situation, as it will have a big impact over the next few weeks.