The Chicago Cubs have claimed C Rene Rivera off waivers from the New York Mets.
The Cubs, who are trying to beat out the Cardinals and Brewers for the NL Central lead, have starting catcher Willson Contreras on the DL. Their current starter, recently acquired Alex Avila, needs a backup. The Cubs have been using rookie Victor Caratini as their backup. Rivera is a veteran who is the average backup catcher. Bad hitter, good defensive catcher. In his career, he has thrown out 36% of runners in his career, which is sixth among all active catchers (Molina, Maldonado, Gomes, Hanigan and Barnhart) according to Baseball-Reference.
Rivera, 34, has a .230 batting average, eight homers and 23 RBIs in 187 Plate Appearances for the Mets this year. In his nine year MLB career for the Mets, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, Minnesota Twins and San Diego Padres, Rivera has a .215 batting average, 34 homers and 141 RBIs in 1386 Plate Appearances.
The Mets just get rid of their backup catcher and the remaining of his 1.75 million deal. This also opens up a spot for C Kevin Plawecki, who was recalled after the claim. Also, LHP Tommy Milone was recalled from AAA.
CarterHud 