Backing up Willson Contreras has proved to be one of the game’s more dangerous professions this year, with Lobaton joining P.J. Higgins and Austin Romine on the 60-day injured list. Tony Wolters actually opened the season as the backup, but he was designated for assignment. Lobaton managed to make it into just six games without recording a hit in 13 plate appearances.

Gushue now steps into the opportunity, prepared to make his Major League debut. The Cubs are Gushue’s third organization after Pittsburgh and Washington. The switch-hitting catcher has played well in his first bit of action with the Cubs, slashing .272/.328/.440 in 137 plate appearances as the primary catcher for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs.

Chalmers’ stay with the Cubs organization could prove exceptionally brief. The righty was claimed off waivers from the Twins just six days ago and has yet to even pitch in a game with the Cubs’ top affiliate in Iowa.

The 24-year-old Chalmers was a third-round pick of the A’s back in 2015 and made his way to the Twins organization via a 2018 trade that sent Fernando Rodney from Minnesota to Oakland. He’s drawn praise in the past for a strong three-pitch mix (fastball, curveball, changeup) but consistently struggled to throw strikes. Chalmers, who also had Tommy John surgery in 2018, has walked or hit 19 percent of the batters he’s faced during his professional career.  The Cubs will have a week to trade him or place him back on outright waivers.

Lobaton, 36, will be returning to the Majors for his first appearance since 2018. He was batting just .179 in Triple-A at the time of his promotion, albeit with much heartier marks in on-base percentage (.347) and slugging percentage (.410). The switch-hitting Lobaton has played in 413 games  at the MLB level and is a career .215/.293/.319 batter in 1278 plate appearances. He’ll give the Cubs an experienced backup to Willson Contreras with both Higgins and the veteran Austin Romine on the injured list.

Ryan, 29, leads all Cubs relievers in total appearances (91) and innings pitched (76 2/3) dating back to the 2019 season, but he missed the beginning of camp while on the Covid-19 related injured list and has yet to get into an official Spring Training game. He’ll build up with the minor league side of camp and at the team’s alternate training site to begin the season, but based on his usage over the past couple of seasons, he should get another look in the big leagues once he’s ready to go.

While the 2020 season was a struggle for Ryan — 5.17 ERA and five homers allowed in 15 2/3 innings — he was one of the Cubs’ most effective bullpen members in 2019. He racked up 61 innings that season, pitching to a 3.54 ERA with a 22.4 percent strikeout rate, an 11.2 percent walk rate and a whopping 58.2 percent ground-ball rate. That showing was enough that, in spite of his 2020 struggles, the Cubs tendered Ryan a contract this winter and agreed to a one-year, $800K deal with him. Ryan’s contract is a split contract, meaning he’ll earn at that $800K rate in the Majors but a $250K rate in the minors.

As Ryan builds back up, his absence could open the door for Brad Wieck or non-roster southpaw Rex Brothers to make the team as a second lefty in David Ross’ bullpen. (Former Phillies lefty Adam Morgan signed a minors deal with the Cubs, too, but is still mending from flexor surgery.) At present, Andrew Chafin is the lone left-handed lock for a bullpen job.

The Cubs also optioned James Norwood and Justin Steele today, and they reassigned five non-roster veterans to minor league camp: Joe Biagini, Jose Lobaton, Michael Hermosillo, Nick Martini and Ian Miller.

Abbott was a second-round pick of the Cubs in 2017, and he has since climbed to the Double-A level. The 24-year-old held his own there last season in his first try, amassing 146 2/3 innings of 3.01 ERA/3.51 FIP pitching with 10.19 K/9 and 3.19 BB/9. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen recently ranked Abbott as the Cubs’ 10th-best prospect, writing that he “projects as a low-variance fifth starter.”

Miller, also 24, joined the Cubs in Round 4 of the 2016 draft. He thrived in Double-A last year with a 2.56 ERA/3.05 FIP, 8.18 K/9 and 1.84 BB/9 in 88 innings, but his Triple-A debut didn’t go nearly as well. Miller tossed 48 2/3 frames there and stumbled to a 7.58 ERA/7.17 FIP with 7.95 K/9 against 4.62 BB/9. He is Longenhagen’s 30th-ranked Cubs prospect.

The 35-year-old Lobaton is a veteran of a few major league organizations, most recently the Dodgers, and a lifetime .215/.293/.319 hitter in the bigs. Lobaton joined the Dodgers in a trade with the Mariners last August, but he didn’t appear in MLB with either club in 2019 and hasn’t logged at least 100 at-bats in a season at the game’s highest level since 2017. The Dodgers recently released the switch-hitter, who posted a .236/.310/.427 line with 14 home runs over 374 PA in Triple-A ball a year ago.

Lobaton is clearly facing an uphill battle in carving out a role with the Cubs. They have an elite tandem behind the plate in Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini, not to mention an experienced third option in Josh Phegley.

Lobaton, 34, had been playing with the top Seattle affiliate on a minors deal. That’s why he was able to be traded after the July 31st trade deadline.

It’s doubtful that the Dodgers anticipate utilizing Lobaton at the MLB level. He hasn’t been a passable offensive performer in the majors since 2016. In parts of nine seasons in the majors, the switch-hitter carries a .215/.293/.319 slash.

But with prospect Keibert Ruiz going down with an injury, there was a need for a gap-filler at Triple-A. And the Dodgers undoubtedly wish to be sure they’re covered with sufficient organizational depth in the event of an unanticipated run of injuries.

• The Mariners have signed catcher Jose Lobaton to a minor league deal, as per the Mariners Minors Twitter feed.  Lobaton will earn $1MM if he makes Seattle’s big league roster, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo adds, and the catcher will invited to the team’s Major League spring camp.  Lobaton amassed 57 PA over 22 games with the Mets last season, his lowest total in either category since 2011.  The 34-year-old veteran will head into camp to compete with David Freitas for the backup job behind newly-acquired Omar Narvaez.
• The White Sox have signed infielder Ryan Goins to a minor league contract, MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweets.  The deal contains an invitation to Chicago’s big league Spring Training camp, and Goins will earn at least $975K in guaranteed money if he reaches the majors.  Goins has never hit much over six years with the Blue Jays and Royals, though he has flashed an excellent shortstop glove in the past and offers depth at short, second base, and third base.
• The Reds have re-signed outfielder/first baseman Jordan Patterson and catcher Juan Graterol to minor league deals, and also inked shortstop Christian Colon to a minors pact, the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale reports (Twitter link).  Patterson and Graterol are back with the organization after being non-tendered last week.  Colon was the fourth overall pick of the 2010 draft but hasn’t turned that potential into Major League production, with just a .252/.315/.315 slash line over 386 PA with the Royals and Marlins from 2014-17, though he did earn a World Series ring for his postseason role with the 2015 Royals.  He spent 2018 in the Braves and Mets organizations at the Triple-A level, and Colon does have a decent career slash line (.289/.358/.397) over 1833 career Triple-A plate appearances.

• The Mets selected catcher Jose Lobaton’s contract from Triple-A Las Vegas and transferred right-hander Bobby Wahl from the 10-day disabled list to the 60-day version before their game Saturday. It’s the third time this season the Mets have brought up the 33-year-old Lobaton, whom they previously outrighted in mid-June. Lobaton posted a dominant .348/.430/.598 batting line with eight home runs in 151 Triple-A plate appearances this season, but offense has never been his calling card in the majors. Over 53 PAs with this year’s Mets, he has hit a meager .152/.264/.239 without a homer.

• The Twins announced that infielder Gregorio Petit has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Rochester after being designated for assignment earlier this week. The 33-year-old stuck with the Twins for a few weeks as a seldom-used bench piece but lost his roster spot when Minnesota brought right-hander Matt Belisle back to the organization on a big league contract Tuesday. Petit appeared in a dozen games for Minnesota but made just 30 plate appearances, hitting .308/.400/.308. He’s a career .253/.298/.350 hitter in 483 MLB plate appearances and a .267/.317/.370 hitter in parts of 11 Triple-A seasons.

Earlier Moves

• Catcher Jose Lobaton cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Mets and has been sent outright to Triple-A Las Vegas, as noted on the team’s transactions page. It’s the second time that the veteran Lobaton has been designated and subsequently outrighted by the Mets in 2018. While he has the option of rejecting the option of rejecting the assignment in favor of free agency, he accepted his previous assignment and is already once again listed on the team’s roster in Triple-A. Lobaton, 33, has hit just .152/.264/.239 in 53 plate appearances for the Mets thus far in 2018, continuing his struggles from the 2017 season with the Nats. The switch-hitter is a career .271/.352/.419 hitter in Triple-A, however.
• Right-hander Jairo Diaz was released by the Rockies following his recent DFA, as reflected on the team’s transactions page. The 27-year-old Diaz hasn’t pitched much since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2016, struggling through 25 innings between MLB and the minors last season and through just 3 2/3 innings in Triple-A so far in 2018. Diaz has averaged better than 97 mph on his fastball (including in a short MLB stint last year, post-surgery) and did notch a 2.37 ERA and an 18-to-6 K/BB ratio with a 56.6 percent ground-ball rate in 19 innings with the Rox back in 2015. He’d been on the DL due to forearm tightness since mid-April at the time of his DFA, per Nick Groke of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Gonzalez found himself a free agent this winter after the Braves acquired him as part of a payroll-shifting trade with the Dodgers and then almost immediately released the veteran first baseman.  With the Braves covering virtually all of Gonzalez’s 2018 salary, the Mets inked him to a minimum-salary contract to see if they could find a bargain if Gonzalez regained any of his old form.

After a hot start in his first few games, however, Gonzalez settled into being a below-average bat and has most recently been caught in a deep slump, with just a .550 OPS over his last 43 plate appearances coming into tonight’s game.  He’ll conclude his Mets tenure with a .237/.299/.373 slash line and six homers over 187 PA, with the bulk of his at-bats coming against right-handed pitching.

“A-Gon” began to show some signs of decline in 2016 (though still posting a 111 wRC+) and then cratered in 2017, as a severe back injury limited him to just 71 games and he hit only .242/.287/.355 over 252 PA.  Gonzalez has looked generally healthy during his time with the Mets, though at age 36 and showing little sign of his old hitting prowess, one has to wonder if this could mark the end of Gonzalez’s otherwise outstanding 15-year career in the big leagues.

Ranked as one of baseball’s top-100 prospects coming into last season, Smith’s star dimmed after a mediocre start to his MLB career, as he hit just .198/.262/.395 and struck out a whopping 49 times over 183 PA last season.  Mets GM Sandy Alderson was rather bluntly critical about Smith’s first stint in the big leagues, and the team’s acquisitions of Gonzalez and Jay Bruce in the offseason indicated that the team felt Smith needed more seasoning before being given another crack at regular first base duty.

The first base picture at Citi Field is still rather unclear, as both Smith and Bruce are left-handed bats and thus not an ideal platoon mix.  The right-handed hitting Jose Bautista is also on the roster, and utilityman Wilmer Flores is on the DL.  Brandon Nimmo’s emergence as an everyday player has helped the Mets withstand the loss of the injured Yoenis Cespedes, though it could lead to a bit of a roster logjam at the first base and corner outfield spots once Flores and Cespedes return (though the latter may not be back for a while yet).

Further complicating matters is the fact that Asdrubal Cabrera left tonight’s game with a hamstring issue, which could explain why utilityman Kelly is headed for another stint with the Mets.  Rookie Luis Guillorme and struggling veteran Jose Reyes also provide infield depth on the roster, and if Cabrera does require some DL time, it could give Reyes some more opportunity to turn around his disastrous season.

Lobaton signed a minors deal over the winter to provide catching depth that quite immediately became necessary as Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki were both sidelined with injuries.  With Plawecki back and Devin Mesoraco establishing himself as a regular, Lobaton became the odd man out.  This is the second time in under a month that Lobaton will enter DFA limbo, so he could very well clear waivers again and return to Triple-A.

Lobaton already spent some time in the majors with the Mets earlier this year, but lost his roster spot after hitting just .152/.250/.239 in his 52 plate appearances in the majors. It’s certainly possible that this second stay will be even shorter, unless the club decides to keep three catchers for a stretch.

As for the 30-year-old Copeland, his return to the majors proved fleeting. Though he worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings last night, he was mostly called up to give the team a fresh arm. Now, unless he’s claimed, he’ll end up back in the minors, waiting for another opportunity.

The 33-year-old Lobaton has played in parts of nine major league seasons for the Padres, Rays, Nationals and Mets, but has never provided much in the way of value. His 2018 slash line stands at a meager .152/.250/.239 through 52 plate appearances with the Amazins, and it certainly makes sense that the club would give the lion’s share of the work behind the plate to Mesoraco considering his former offensive prowess. Mesoraco was recently acquired from the Reds in exchange for Matt Harvey, in what was clearly a swap of struggling veteran change-of-scenery candidates.

Despite Lobaton’s uninspiring resume, it’s difficult to imagine he’ll go unclaimed given the state of the catcher position around MLB. The Nationals and Twins are in desperate need of catching depth after losing Matt Wieters and Jason Castro (respectively) to significant injuries. The veteran Lobaton could easily be a target for either team, though it seems likely that both clubs would wait for their chance to claim him rather than attempt to give anything up in a trade.

Nido, 24, has actually been worse than Lobaton so far this season. With a microscopic .135/.179/.162 slash line across 39 plate appearances to go with a 38.5% strikeout rate, Nido is simply the new unexciting backup option to Mesoraco while the team waits for Kevin Plawecki to return from a broken hand, hopefully by the end of the month.

Additionally, the Mets placed Kevin Plawecki on the 10-day DL due to a hairline fracture in his left hand, selected the contract of Jose Lobaton from Triple-A Las Vegas and optioned out righty Jacob Rhame in place of outfielder Brandon Nimmo.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Lobaton, d’Arnaud was placed on the 60-day DL. Plawecki is expected to be out three to four weeks, the team told reporters (Twitter link via Mike Puma of the New York Post).

Suffice it to say, it’s been a devastating 48 hours for the Mets, who just days ago were counting on d’Arnaud and Plawecki to shoulder the entirety of their catching work in 2018. Now, they’ll be without Plawecki for perhaps a month’s time, while d’Arnaud will be lost for the whole season. In their stead, the Mets will turn to Lobaton and Double-A backstop Tomas Nido to handle immediate catching duties. Lobaton is in tonight’s lineup.

However, for a club that started 10-1, the Mets understandably aren’t keen on merely relying on depth pieces and journeyman stopgaps as they await the return of Plawecki, who, while he has shown promise in the past, is no sure bet for a productive campaign.

To that end, the Mets are already on the lookout for catching help, per multiple reports. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets that a small-scale move — something along the lines of a pickup of recently designated veteran Miguel Montero — could be in play for the Mets. FanRag’s Jon Heyman, meanwhile, tweets that the Mets are “seriously” looking at adding a catcher, though GM Sandy Alderson, at least publicly, spoke to the contrary (Twitter links via DiComo and Puma).

Alderson indicated that his club will “be aware” of what is available on the catching market but is not actively pursuing a Major League catching addition. Puma notes that Alderson did suggest that trades are more plausible early this season than in other years because of the number of teams that “aren’t trying that hard.”

One move that seems decidedly unlikely is a swap for J.T. Realmuto. DiComo and Newsday’s Tim Healey have both thrown significant cold water on the possibility, downplaying the notion that the Mets would be able to put together a sufficient package and also downplaying the Marlins’ willingness to move him. Healey notes that the Mets and Marlins haven’t spoken about Realmuto at all this week, noting that offseason talks for the star catcher failed to gain any traction.

More emphatically, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com tweets that the Marlins don’t have any intention of dealing Realmuto while he’s rehabbing from injury and, in the grander scope of things, don’t even plan on making him available at all this season. It seems that the Fish would prefer to hold Realmuto through the end of the 2018 season and market him again next winter when a wider base of clubs could likely inquire about his services. Of course, such plans can always change at the deadline if a few contenders find themselves with an acute need, thus creating the basis for a bidding war, but for the time being it doesn’t sound as if a Realmuto trade is even worth speculating upon.

As far as depth options go, the Mets have already acted quickly to pursue one such addition. Former Mets backstop Johnny Monell announced today on Instagram that he’s signed a new minor league deal with the team and will return to the club. The 32-year-old logged 57 plate appearances for the 2015 Mets and is a lifetime .278/.350/.460 hitter in parts of five seasons in Triple-A, which is where he’ll be headed.

There’s been no timeline given on the injury, though SNY’s Steve Gelbs tweets that Plawecki could be out for as little as three weeks. That’d seem to be a surprisingly quick turnaround for a fracture in his catching hand, but if that timeline holds true, then the Mets may not feel much pressure to make a significant catching acquisition.

9:25am: In a staggering stroke of bad luck, the Mets look to have lost their top two catchers in a span of just two days. Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that just a day after Travis d’Arnaud was diagnosed with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, Kevin Plawecki has been diagnosed with a fractured left hand after being hit by a pitch in last night’s game. Mets manager Mickey Callaway said after last night’s contest that initial X-rays on Plawecki’s hand were negative, though it seems that further testing may have revealed the reported fracture.

Puma adds that veteran Jose Lobaton will join Tomas Nido on the big league roster — he’ll require a 40-man move — though clearly the Mets will be on the lookout for additional options. Miguel Montero jumps to mind as one readily available backstop, as he was only just designated for assignment by the division-rival Nationals earlier this week. When looking at some remaining free agents a couple of weeks ago, I noted that Ryan Hanigan, Derek Norris, Carlos Ruiz and Geovany Soto were also without a contract at the time. (Chris Herrmann and Cameron Rupp, each also listed there, have since signed deals with the Mariners and Rangers.)

The Mets, to the surprise of many, are off to the best start of any team in baseball. Their 10-1 record gives them the best winning percentage of any club in the Majors, and their +24 run differential ranks fourth in the game. Given that excellent start to the season, it seems unlikely that the Mets will be content to merely rely on depth options in the event that Plawecki needs to miss a substantial period of time.

That said, there also aren’t going to be many clubs looking to part with a catcher at this time. J.T. Realmuto was available for much of the offseason, but he’d come with an extremely steep asking price and is currently on the DL with a lower back injury for the division-rival Marlins (though he has begun a minor league rehab assignment).

An intriguing and more plausible fit could be a match with the Red Sox, who opened the year with three catchers — Christian Vazquez, Sandy Leon and Blake Swihart — on the big league roster. Vazquez is the team’s long-term answer after signing an extension this offseason, and the club has previously gone with Leon as a backup option over Swihart, who is out of minor league options and has been relegated to a utility role. A deal for Swihart, once one of the game’s top prospects, would certainly be a more appealing option than piecing the catching corps together with minor league journeymen for the foreseeable future.

Likewise, the Brewers could soon find themselves with three catchers on the roster — two of whom are out of options. Manny Pina has emerged as the starter in Milwaukee over the past year, but backups Jett Bandy and Stephen Vogt are each out of minor league options. A spring shoulder injury for Vogt temporarily delayed an inevitable decision for the Brewers, but Vogt is rehabbing the shoulder and hoping to return before month’s end. It’s not clear that Bandy is a marked upgrade over any internal options the Mets have, but Vogt does have a fairly solid big league track record.

A smaller-scale move to pick up someone such as Rupp from the Rangers could make sense as well. The former Phillies backstop signed a minor league pact there just over a week ago and reported to Triple-A Round Rock, though perhaps the organization would allow him to pursue a big league opportunity elsewhere, or at least consider trading him for cash considerations. The Braves possess some depth in the form of recently outrighted veteran Chris Stewart, and they’ll likely have to remove Carlos Perez from the roster once Tyler Flowers is healthy. The D-backs, meanwhile, are carrying Alex Avila, Jeff Mathis and John Ryan Murphy, though Avila won’t be going anywhere after signing a two-year deal this winter. Colorado’s Tom Murphy is another speculative fit, as he’s been displaced on the big league roster by Chris Iannetta and Tony Wolters. And it might be worthwhile for the Mets to see if the cost-conscious Rays, off to a dreadful start, would part with impending free agent Wilson Ramos.

Lobaton, a 33-year-old switch-hitter, has played for the division-rival Nationals for the past four seasons. While he is generally regarded as a reliable asset behind the dish, Lobaton has limped to a .210/.281/.307 batting line over 657 plate appearances during his tenure in D.C.

While he’s an established MLB asset, Lobaton’s struggles of late always made it seem likely he’d end up settling for a minor-league arrangement. Catching depth is always important to have, though, and Lobaton will certainly rate among the better insurance policies around the game.

Perhaps it’s not too soon to fully rule out a run at a MLB roster spot for Lobaton. Current Mets options Travis d’Arnaud (who’s projected to earn $3.4MM in arbitration) and Kevin Plawecki (who’s out of options) have certainly had their share of ups and downs, after all. But it seems quite likely the Mets will open the 2018 season with those two players sharing time behind the dish.