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Cubs' Miguel Amaya: Big game in easy win Wednesday
Rotowire
Amaya went 2-for-4 with a walk, three RBI and three runs scored in Wednesday's 23-3 win over the Padres.
Amaya was a bit overshadowed by Chicago's eight home runs on the day, but he still managed a strong performance of his own. The 27-year-old catcher isn't seeing a ton of playing time behind Carson Kelly and batted just .226 across 13 games in June.
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Cubs' Miguel Amaya: Catching in first game of day
Rotowire
Amaya will start at catcher and bat eighth in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader with the Mets.
Top backstop Carson Kelly will rest for the early contest of the twin bill, clearing the way for Amaya to draw his 32nd start of the season through the Cubs' first 79 games. Amaya has posted a respectable .721 OPS over 124 plate appearances, but he's unlikely to see a dramatic spike in playing time while Kelly has produced at a similar level (.766 OPS) and is a more established big-league catcher.
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Cubs' Miguel Amaya: Goes deep in loss
Rotowire
Amaya went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 8-3 loss to the White Sox.
Amaya batted ninth and provided a small jolt in the sixth inning when he launched his third home run of the year, though the Cubs already trailed 7-0 at that point. The 27-year-old catcher is in a clear backup role to Carson Kelly at the moment, which limits his overall fantasy upside, but Amaya can provide some offense when given the opportunity to start.
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Cubs' Miguel Amaya: Homers in loss
Rotowire
Amaya went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's 12-4 loss to the Dodgers.
Amaya lifted his second home run of the season in the fifth inning against Roki Sasaki. This was the catcher's 18th appearance of the year through 27 team games, while Carson Kelly has played in 21 contests so far. Kelly has also been a bit better offensively with a .900 OPS compared to a .728 OPS for Amaya, so it doesn't appear as if their playing time split will change any time soon.
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Cubs' Carson Kelly: Not starting Saturday
Rotowire
Kelly isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Mets.
Kelly has notched a base hit in nine of his 11 games since the start of April, but the Cubs will keep him in the dugout to begin Saturday's contest while Miguel Amaya starts behind the plate.
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Cubs' Miguel Amaya: Role declining
Rotowire
Amaya is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates.
Amaya had a brief surge in playing time to begin April, but he appears to have slid back into a part-time role behind Carson Kelly at catcher and Moises Ballesteros at designated hitter. The Cubs will keep Amaya on the bench for the third time in four games.
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Cubs' Miguel Amaya: Taking seat Wednesday
Rotowire
Amaya is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.
Moises Ballesteros will enter the starting nine at designated hitter in place of Amaya, who had been included in the lineup as the Cubs' DH or catcher in six of the previous seven games. Amaya has compiled a .929 OPS through 20 plate appearances on the season and should continue to see fairly steady playing time while he's swinging a hot bat.
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Cubs' Miguel Amaya: Playing time on upswing
Rotowire
Amaya will start at designated hitter and bat ninth in Monday's game against the Rays.
Amaya will remain in the lineup for the fifth time in six games, with three of his starts coming versus lefties and two coming against righties during that stretch. The 27-year-old has gone 5-for-12 with a pair of extra-base hits to begin the season, and his hot start appears to have helped him at least temporarily supplant Moises Ballesteros as the Cubs' preferred option at DH.
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Cubs' Miguel Amaya: Hits first 2026 home run
Rotowire
Amaya went 2-for-4 with a home run, an additional run scored and two total RBI in Saturday's 10-2 win over the Nationals.
After ceding the Opening Day start behind the dish to Carson Kelly, Amaya started Chicago's second game of the year and made quite the impact from the No. 9 spot in the order. The 27-year-old catcher was limited to only 28 games last season due to injuries, and he missed the team's entire postseason run. Amaya said he felt fully healthy during spring training, and if he can stay off the IL, he should split time with Kelly behind the plate.
Amaya (ankle) said his body feels "100 percent, good to go" heading into the World Baseball Classic and the regular season, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.
Amaya had an injury-riddled 2025 campaign, with a sprained ankle in mid-August ultimately shutting him down. Before that, the catcher missed about two and a half months due to an oblique strain. Overall, Amaya managed to appear in only 28 games for the Cubs. He said he feels recovered now, and the backstop is prepared to play for Panama in the upcoming WBC as a ramp-up to the regular season. The 26-year-old did muster a career-best .814 OPS last year despite the injuries, and if he can stay healthy, he figures to split time behind the plate with Carson Kelly in 2026. While the arrangement could limit Amaya's ceiling, he still has the offensive talent to take a step forward from a fantasy perspective, particularly if Kelly slumps or gets hurt.
Amaya (ankle) rejoined the Cubs following the end of the minor-league season and is considered healthy and available to play, but Chicago has no current plans to activate him for their playoff run, MLB.com reports.
Amaya missed two and a half months earlier in the season while recovering from a left oblique strain, then landed back on the injured list in mid-August after spraining his left ankle in his first game back in action with the Cubs. The 26-year-old backstop was able to play in four rehab games with Triple-A Iowa before the minor-league concluded, but Chicago didn't activate him from the IL until after the regular season ended. Amaya is seemingly fully healed from the ankle injury, but unless the Cubs lose one of Carson Kelly or Reese McGuire at any point during the playoffs, Amaya doesn't look as though he'll play again in 2025.
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Cubs' Miguel Amaya: Ready for rehab assignment
Rotowire
Amaya (ankle) is set to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, MLB.com reports.
Amaya isn't considered fully recovered from the left ankle sprain he suffered Aug. 13, which he sustained in his first game back from the injured list after he had been shelved since late May due to a left oblique strain. However, Amaya has made enough progress in his recovery from the ankle injury to run the bases, so he'll serve as a designated hitter for Iowa on Tuesday. Manager Craig Counsell is hopeful that Amaya will resume catching for Iowa later in the week, and if all goes well, the 26-year-old could rejoin the Cubs for the final week of the regular season.
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Cubs' Miguel Amaya: Ramping up slowly
Rotowire
Amaya (ankle) has started running on a treadmill but is "still weeks away" from a return, manager Craig Counsell said, per MLB.com.
Amaya was carted off the field after stepping awkwardly on first base and spraining his ankle during a game on Aug. 13. It was a tough break for the catcher, who was making his first appearance for the Cubs since May 24 after recovering from an oblique injury. Amaya may be able to help Chicago late in the season and in the playoffs, though fantasy managers shouldn't expect much more from the 26-year-old in 2025.
The Cubs placed Amaya (ankle) on the 10-day injured list Thursday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
After making his return to action in Wednesday's win over the Blue Jays following an extended stay on the 60-day IL due to an oblique strain, Amaya sprained his left ankle when he landed awkwardly on first base. He had to be carted off the field, and while X-rays returned negative, Amaya could require additional testing as the Cubs look to determine the severity of his ankle sprain. With Amaya back on the shelf, Carson Kelly will continue serving as the Cubs' primary catcher and will be backed up by Reese McGuire.
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Cubs' Miguel Amaya: Headed back to IL
Rotowire
Manager Craig Counsell said after Wednesday's win over Toronto that Amaya was diagnosed with a sprained left ankle, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.
Amaya needed to be carted off the field after stepping awkwardly on first base in the eighth inning. X-rays came back negative after the incident, but Counsell confirmed that the catcher's sprained ankle will be enough to force him back on the injured list just two days after returning from a significant oblique injury. Carson Kelly and Reese McGuire will likely resume splitting reps behind the plate while Amaya is out.
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