With Willson Contreras on the shelf for a while yet, the Cubs have once again made a move to bolster the catcher position. They pickes up Rene Rivera from the Mets on a straight waiver claim, which means they didn’t have to give any players up in return. They did, however, have to DFA Aaron Brooks in order to clear space on the 40-man roster.
Rivera, a glove-first catcher who frames well and has done a decent job of throwing runners out, is expected to join the team either Sunday in Chicago or Tuesday in Cincy. Loyal readers may remember that we mentioned the well-traveled backstop among the Cubs’ possible trade targets last month.