When it was announced Monday night that Kyle Schwarber would be coming up to the big leagues, it was made abundantly clear by Theo Epstein that he’d only be around for six games—one off the bench Tuesday night at Wrigley, and the next five as a designated hitter while the Cubs played in American League ballparks.
But make no bones about it, while it wasn’t explicitly stated, Schwarber is going to be back in a Cubs uniform later this summer, especially if the Cubs remain in the playoff hunt.
“He needs to continue developing as a catcher,” Theo Epstein responded when asked how they fight the desire to just keep him up since the bat appears ready. “We may reach a point this year—whether it’s September or a little bit earlier than that—where he’s caught enough for the year. You have to remember he hasn’t caught that many games; 140 games in a minor-league season is a lot more than he’s caught before and we’re monitoring his workload. We may reach a point where he’s caught enough this year and we may mix in some different responsibilities and maybe he’s a factor for September up here.”
But before we get back to Schwarber’s return to the bigs this season—which appears all but inevitable at this point—there’s the matter of where he’ll play the rest of the year. Epstein, as he plainly stated above, made a point of discussing how developing Schwarber’s skills behind the plate was a priority for the organization, repeatedly coming back to the subject at various times.
Epstein pointed out that he’s thrown out a lot of runners lately, including being just one of two catchers to get Byron Buxton this year—something Schwarber called a ‘a feather in your hat.’
Schwarber went on to discuss how he’s revamped the entire way he’s positioned himself behind the plate over the last year.
“Kind of went through a transition of remodeling the whole thing,” the Indiana University product said. “I never want to stop learning that position, I want to be a student of the game. I take my work seriously, I want to get better at every aspect of the game.
“I’ve gotten better. One of my coaches told me when I was in Tennessee after a bad game, ‘You need to look at how much better you are now from where you were a year ago.’ If that progress keeps going, I think I’ll be very happy with where I am defense-wise.”
And according to Epstein, that progress is legit and in various aspects of his game behind the plate.
“Pitchers love throwing to him,” Epstein said. “They have a lot of trust in him and he creates a lot of conviction for them and the pitches that they throw. He’s getting better as a blocker, he’s doing a real nice job as a framer, and learning how to call game, that’s going well. He’s got a perfect personality as a catcher and great presence, pitchers love working with him and we’re excited.”
And no, both Epstein and Schwarber said there are no plans to test the catcher in the outfield when he heads to Triple-A Iowa—which is where he’ll be sent after his six days with the big-league club. But the whole thing does feel a little odd, right? Sure, it makes perfect sense to bring him up to DH, and as Epstein said, it didn’t make sense to do so when they were in Detroit, because there were six games at Wrigley that they’d have likely sat him.
But a stop a stop in the big leagues prior to a ‘promotion’ to Triple-A just feels out of sorts. Has Epstein ever brought a player up to the majors for a quick stint on their way to Triple-A?
“It turned out to be on the way to Triple-A,” Epstein said with a laugh. “It’s always on the way Triple-A, we’re all on the way to Triple-A in one form or another.”
But after the jokes, Epstein was able to make sense of it all.
“We think it’s a perfect pit stop for him on the way to Triple-A,” Epstein said. “Once you get to Triple-A, you’re an injury from being pushed into action at the big-league level. And with him having just a year of professional experience under his belt, we think he’ll really benefit from seeing what goes into being a major-league catcher, how much preparation there is, how to work with the scouting reports, all the pregame preparation.”
Maddon took it a step further.
“I talked to him about the ability get some firsts out of the way, which the next time he comes up should permit it to be somewhat more comfortable and he’ll know what to expect,” Maddon said. “Because the next time he comes up it’s going to be under different circumstances where things may be even hotter. So I like the idea of him being able to see it. I asked him to be himself. I asked him to take some mental snapshots to really enjoy the moment. And if he’s a little freaked out, to understand that’s normal.”
Did you catch it? The next time Schwarber comes up, “things may be even hotter.” Epstein and Maddon aren’t hiding the fact that they hope to see Schwarber at Wrigley again this season, and with much more on the line. There are still some who seem to believe that this team is solely focused on the future, that 2015 isn’t a year in which they can compete. But those people are ignoring everything everyone around this team is saying, and more importantly, they appear to be ignoring the standings.
Indeed, the Cubs are in third place in the central, but they’re also playing in arguably the best division in baseball. They continue to show that they’re right in the thick of things, and while they certainly have had their ups and downs this season, they enter play on Wednesday with the fourth-best winning percentage in the NL. This team has it’s deficiencies, but they also have the resources to improve them, whether it’s making a minor-league signing for a guy like Rafael Soriano, potentially calling up players like C.J. Edwards or Corey Black to supplement the bullpen, being willing to make a bold trade in July, or bringing up Schwarber for a six-game stretch in June; and perhaps once again when they’re in the thick of things in August or September.
Yes, 2016 and beyond should be bright, but it’s time everyone realizes that this begins now. The Cubs aren’t just on the periphery of the discussion, they’re right in the middle of it. And every move they’ll make from here on out should only make that clearer to everyone paying attention.
Lead photo courtesy of Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports