CINCINNATI — The Cubs’ catching depth has quickly dwindled in the past week. The team scratched Yan Gomes from the lineup on Tuesday with left oblique tightness, three days after Willson Contreras left a game with right hamstring tightness.
Rookie P.J. Higgins, who the Cubs called up on Sunday, was scheduled to start at catcher regardless, with Gomes originally serving as the designated hitter. But with Gomes out, Frank Schwindel moved from first base to DH, and Alfonso Rivas slid into the lineup at first.
“We’ve had a long talk with Frank,” Cubs manager David Ross said of the emergency catcher.