A few weeks ago, the Chicago Cubs went from tons of depth catching options to almost none.
Consider that the Cubs lost Moises Ballesteros in a trade, Casey Opitz to retirement, and Christian Bethencourt to an opt-out (and the Yankees). That happened in the relative blink of an eye, leaving Triple-A Iowa with only Owen Ayers and Ethan Hearn, who could MAYBE turn himself into a third catcher type in a year or two, but is far from that level at the moment. So if the Cubs had an urgent need at the big league level if something happened to Miguel Amaya or Carson Kelly, they were in a spot where they’d either have to rely on Hearn or would have to call Ayers up perhaps before they deemed him otherwise ready (and add him to the 40-man roster ahead of a lockout*).
Thus, in a move that was weeks in the making, the Cubs finally added a much-needed veteran depth catcher:
Many have believed the Cubs would be adding a veteran catcher late this season as insurance for the big league club. Austin Wynns is joining the @IowaCubs today and fits that bill. Parts of eight years in MLB, including stints this season with the A's, Braves and Rangers.
— Jason Kempf (@jkempradio) August 25, 2026Austin Wynns, 35, is the consummate veteran third catcher, having played for seven different MLB teams over the last three seasons (plus three – now four – Triple-A squads). The guy has caught a WHOLE lot of different types of pitchers, has been injected into a WHOLE lot of different situations, and comes with a WHOLE lot of experience. That’s good stuff for not only the other catchers he might influence, but also the pitching staff down at Iowa.
As far as the performance goes, well, you should know the drill here by now. Should the Cubs need to bring up Wynns, he wouldn’t be expected to contribute much with his bat (he’s a career .230/.274/.344/66 wRC+ hitter in the bigs). But he’s a perfectly capable big league catcher behind the plate, and, again, he has so much experience with so many different pitchers that I reckon the learning curve for him isn’t too steep when it comes to knowing how any given staff works.
Ultimately, you make a deal like this hoping you never actually have to use the guy at the MLB level. But you want to have someone like Wynns available just in case of an emergency.
*(Owen Ayers is not Rule 5 Draft eligible after the season, so he does not yet have to be added to the 40-man roster. That means, if he’s called up, he goes on the 40-man and then has to stay there all offseason, taking up a spot that the Cubs might otherwise be able to use. That’s a small consideration, but it’s non-zero. Possibly a bigger non-zero consideration? If there’s a lockout that extends into next season, the players on the 40-man are the players who are locked out. No team access or training or games. But minor leaguers not yet on the 40-man? They can still have a normal spring training and play in minor league games. If you’re the Cubs, you might prefer that Ayers still has the ability to do all that if there’s a lockout, you know?)
Hence then, the article about the cubs finally added another veteran catcher to the depth chart was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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