Catcher Miguel Amaya headed to IL after suffering left oblique strain in Cubs' 6-4 loss

Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune on May 24, 2025

Published in Baseball

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CINCINNATI — A left oblique strain that occurred midgame Saturday will require Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya to go on the injured list.

Amaya exited during the fifth inning of the Cubs’ 6-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds after suffering the injury on a throw.

Amaya threw to second base on Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz’s successful steal attempt with nobody out in the fifth and immediately appeared to be in discomfort after the play, prompting manager Craig Counsell and a trainer to check on him. Amaya tried to stretch his upper body and loaded his arm to test a throw before pulling up and coming out of the game. He immediately headed into the clubhouse.

The injury is significant enough that Counsell immediately stated postgame that Amaya will be going on the IL. The Cubs will have a better idea of how long Amaya might be out once he gets imaging on his oblique, which likely won’t happen until Tuesday, Counsell said.

“We’ll hope for the best,” he added.

Amaya, 26, said he had not been experiencing any issues with his oblique before the throw. While he waits to learn the severity of the injury, Amaya was clearly crestfallen as he was still processing the situation and the unknowns surrounding it.

“We’re going to wait for day by day to see what the results say and go from there,” Amaya said. “I’m a competitor. I love to be on the field, especially with this team. I’m sad that I’m going to be out, I don’t know how long, but I’m going to be from the outside rooting for the team.”

Carson Kelly took over behind the plate and tried to help starter Colin Rea get through the inning without any further damage. However, the Reds tacked on another run thanks to Spencer Steer’s single up the middle to cap a three-run fifth to put the Cubs in a 6-1 hole. The Cubs brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but Kyle Tucker’s flyout ended the game in a loss.

Kelly described putting his catcher gear on and coming in mid at-bat during the fifth “like drinking from a firehose.” He went 2 for 2 at the plate, scoring two runs and slugging a solo home run off the left-field foul pole in the ninth.

“There’s a lot of moving parts, but really just slow the game down, take it one pitch at a time, pay attention to the game when you’re not in there so then when you come into the game, you have an idea of kind of what’s been going on,” Kelly said. “That’s something I learned at a young age is to really pay attention throughout the whole game, even when you’re not in there, because you never know when a situation like this might happen.”

After the game, Counsell did not have any insight as to which catcher the Cubs will bring up to replace Amaya on the roster. They at least are able to easily get a catcher to Cincinnati in time for Sunday afternoon’s finale at Great American Ball Park with Triple-A Iowa playing a weekend series only 90 minutes away in Columbus.

The Cubs’ internal options feature prospect Moisés Ballesteros, Carlos Pérez and Reese McGuire at Triple-A. Ballesteros, who was optioned Tuesday following his first taste of the majors when Ian Happ was on the IL, has the most offensive upside. However, Ballesteros’ defensive ability is still a work in progress for the 21-year-old. If they want him to continue honing that part of his game at Iowa, the Cubs can opt for one of the two veteran catcher options.

The Cubs’ offensive production from Amaya and Kelly has been among the best in the majors at the catcher position. The tandem leads the positional group with a 2.4 WAR and is second in OPS (.912).

Losing Amaya is a blow to the Cubs between his stellar work with the pitching staff and getting off to a career-best start at the plate. After his 0-for-2 day Saturday, Amaya is hitting .280 with four home runs, 25 RBIs and an .818 OPS in 27 games.

“His leadership, handling staff, the way he takes a professional at-bat, just all around a really good player, good teammate, and he’s a big part of this team,” Kelly said. “It’s unfortunate to see.”