With P.J. Higgins heading to the 60-day IL (joining Austin Romine there), with Jose Lobaton currently up to back up Willson Contreras, with the team having run through so many catchers already, and heck, with even prospect Miguel Amaya on the Injured List at Double-A, the Cubs just flat out need more catching depth.
To that end, per the team’s transaction wire, the Cubs have signed former Diamondbacks catching prospect Tim Susnara to a minor league deal.
Susnara, 25, was the Diamondbacks’ 8th rounder in 2017, a glove-first catcher out of the University of Oregon. The bat didn’t come along in his few years in the system, and now he’ll try to stick in the Cubs organization. You aren’t really expecting a significant prospect in a situation like this, and it’s entirely possible that Susnara winds up fill-in catching depth at lower levels of the farm system only until other guys return.
For now, Susnara is listed on the Double-A Tennessee Smokies roster, where he might be filling in for Amaya, as well as providing a backstop in case additional guys are sucked up to Triple-A Iowa to help cover there.