The Cubs' Miguel Amaya celebrates a run against the White Sox with teammates in the dugout during a spring training game March 28, 2023, in Mesa, Ariz. (Ross D. Franklin / AP, Ross D. Franklin / AP)
Miguel Amaya was picking up groceries Monday night at a gas station in Huntsville, Ala., when he received an unexpected call.
Double-A Tennessee manager Michael Ryan summoned Amaya to the team hotel and informed the 24-year-old catcher he wouldn’t be in the Smokies lineup Tuesday. Instead, a flight to Washington in the morning to join the Chicago Cubs awaited Amaya, who earned his first big-league call-up.
“It hasn’t been easy,” Amaya said in front of his locker in the visitors clubhouse at Nationals Park. “It’s been a roller coaster, ups and downs. A lot of work mentally, of course physically … so happy to be here joining the team and being with this beautiful team.”
Amaya initially was on the taxi squad when he arrived at the ballpark but was informed shortly after he was being added to the active roster. The Cubs designated left-hander Ryan Borucki for assignment as the corresponding move. Catcher Yan Gomes continues to be evaluated after being struck in the head on a backswing during the first inning Monday.
Amaya’s promotion comes after just 76 minor-league games and 322 plate appearances since 2019. Between the pandemic and injuries — Tommy John surgery and a Lisfranc injury in his left foot that affected him the last two years — Amaya’s on-field opportunities have been limited. It doesn’t diminish his standing as one of the organization’s top prospects, a young catcher who could provide an all-around impact on the big-league club.
It’s unclear how long Gomes might be sidelined. If he needs to go on the concussion injured list, it requires a seven-day minimum stay. The Cubs expected to get a look at Amaya sometime this season, his last with a minor-league option.
Amaya’s inconsistent playing time the last three years hasn’t seemed to hinder him offensively. He began the season posting a .273 average, .411 on-base percentage and 1.070 OPS at Double A with four home runs and five doubles in 13 games.
“At the end of last year I had the chance to play for a little bit, so I kind of got in rhythm by that time,” Amaya said. “So in my mind, I already knew where my swing was. So you just get here, do the simple things and get the quality at-bats and just keep it going every day.”
When Amaya makes his MLB debut, he will become the first player from Panama to appear in a game for the Cubs since right-hander Manny Corpas in 2012 and the first position player since infielder/outfielder José Macías in 2005. Amaya’s parents, Max and Anny, are flying in from Panama and will be at the game Wednesday.
It took an hour for Amaya to get ahold of his parents to share the news Monday night. When they finally answered, they were shocked. Tears flowed on both ends of the phone call.
“It’s something we’ve been waiting for so long,” Amaya said. “It’s been up and down, like I said, but now we’re here and it’s time to grind.”
The work Amaya put in to get to this point is not lost on former minor-league teammate Brandon Hughes. They first played together in 2017 at short-season Eugene when Hughes still was an outfielder. Their careers followed a parallel track, teaming up at then Low-A South Bend (2018) and again at Tennessee (2021).
It has come full circle, first this spring when Amaya caught Hughes during a live batting practice and now as big-league teammates.
“He’s always had that confidence and he knows exactly what’s going on,” Hughes told the Tribune. “He’s ready for any moment that happens in a baseball game. It seems like he’s prepared for literally any moment that can present itself.”
The majors will present a good test of Amaya’s game planning and receiving skills, the latter of which stood out to manager David Ross the first time he got eyes on Amaya during big-league camp in 2020. The jump from the minors is expected to challenge Amaya and provide a good gauge for the Cubs of where he is in his defensive development.
Ross believes the hardest part for a young big-league catcher is game calling: learning to read swings, process information about the hitter and harness the pitcher’s stuff that day.
“If you’ve got to go off script, where are you going with pitcher strengths or hitters’ weakness, things like that,” Ross said. ”That (comes) from experience and learning.”
Tucker Barnhart remembers the feeling of his first big-league call-up and wants to be there for Amaya in any way he’s needed. Barnhart and Gomes served as valuable resources in big-league camp.
“If Miggy has questions he can obviously ask me — he’s not going to step on my toes (or) offend me or anything,” Barnhart told the Tribune. “Because at the end of the day, we’re all moving toward one goal and that’s to get our pitchers through the game as best we can — and most importantly to win — so whatever I can do to help him, I’m an open book.”
The Cubs have an idea of Amaya’s upside, but he hasn’t stayed healthy enough to put it all together for an extended stretch. His work ethic doesn’t go unnoticed, and it’s the little things that stand out.
Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy commended how quickly Amaya got up to speed with the PitchCom communication system, noting he was one of the first to use it in live BPs. Hottovy also has noticed Amaya’s feel for what pitchers are capable of and trusting the pitchers’ strengths.
Those are all encouraging signs for a catcher who has started only 32 games behind the plate since 2019, none above Double A. Just as the Cubs do with an inexperienced pitcher getting called up, they want to simplify things and talk through situations as much as possible with Amaya.
“When you get in this big environment and your focus starts to widen, you start to want to take all these things in,” Hottovy said, “and that’s important to know but also continue to keep them focused on the things that are going to be successful for them as a catcher.
“He did a great job in spring of attacking with guys’ strengths and understanding what everybody does well, so the communication, his level of intent and how involved he wants to be is really fun to see.”
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Originally published at Tribune News Service