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Chicago Cubs can survive without Willson Contreras

By Dan Schmelzer

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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Losing Willson Contreras for any period of time will undoubtedly hurt, but the Chicago Cubs can survive.

Things are not going well for the Chicago Cubs right now. They do still lead the National League Central by 1.5 games, but they are 2-6 in their last eight games and are coming off of a series loss to the 46-70 San Francisco Giants.

The pitching has been inconsistent, the defense pretty bad and their offense continues to struggle in key situations. The Cubs simply are not playing very well. To make matters worse, in their 3-1 loss to the Giants on Wednesday night, catcher Willson Contreras pulled up lame with an injured hamstring. It did not look good.

Contreras will have an MRI on Thursday for the official diagnosis. Manager Joe Maddon spoke about Contreras’ injury after the game and did not seem optimistic.

"“If I had to guess, I would definitely guess he would be a DL candidate,” Maddon said, according to Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. “But we’ll wait and see when the actual results come in.”"

This injury could not come at a worse time for the Cubs. Contreras was in the middle of a massive offensive surge and had been far and away the team’s best hitter in the second half. Heading into Wednesday night, Contreras was hitting an incredible .322/.385/.724 with 10 home runs since the All-Star break. He was named National League Player of the Week for his performance last week and has solidified himself as a major weapon in the middle of the Cubs’ order.

Contreras had found a home as the Cubs’ cleanup hitter and it rounded out the entire lineup extremely well. Losing him while the rest of the team struggles is undoubtedly a major blow. However, this is not the end of the world.

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Hamstring injuries are tough and Contreras’ did not look great. That being said, he will likely be healthy enough to return to the lineup for the stretch run. The Cubs will undoubtedly need Contreras back and healthy if they expect to make any noise in October, but they should be able to hold serve without him in the meantime.

Luckily, Theo Epstein and company acquired catcher Alex Avila just prior to the MLB trade deadline. Avila is a legitimate starting catcher who is an adequate replacement for Contreras. He is unlikely to replace his recent ridiculous production, but Avila will not kill the Cubs behind the plate with Contreras out.

Plus, this gives Victor Caratini another opportunity to prove himself at the major league level. Caratini is not a great defensive catcher and did not hit well in his first MLB stint (.192/.250/.385 in only 28 plate appearances). However, he is a talented prospect who has hit .341/.383/.548 at Triple-A this season. Caratini is a legitimate prospect who has an MLB future. Between him and Avila, the Cubs are going to be just fine behind the plate.

Replacing a guy like Contreras is never easy. However, the Cubs have the pieces to do it, not only at the catcher position, but with other hitters in the lineup. Guys like Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, Ben Zobrist and Ian Happ are going to have to help pick up the slack, but they are undoubtedly capable of doing so. This is still an extremely talented offensive group that should score a lot of runs. They just need to step up and perform how they should.

Next: Willson Contreras: A superstar in the making

When it comes down to it, the Cubs are still in first place, have a seemingly easy schedule down the stretch and are clearly the most talented team in the National League Central. Losing Contreras obviously hurts, but this team should be able to get by without him.

Things look a little grim right now, but the Chicago Cubs are still in a good spot. It’s just up to them to execute from here on out.

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