Gomes returns to Cubs after concussion, Amaya sent down
Cubs catcher Yan Gomes returned to the starting lineup Wednesday against St. Louis, nine days after getting hit in the head with a batter's backswing in Washington. Manager David Ross said they gave Gomes one more day than he actually needed, just to make sure he was feeling well.
As the corresponding move, catcher Miguel Amaya was sent to Iowa, where he'll eventually make his Triple A debut. It was a good showing for Amaya, who was once rated the top prospect in the Cubs' system, but endured a couple of injuries in recent years, including Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow.
"I think promising, right?" Ross said. "To come up here and make the impact that he did - the swings were good, the plate discipline was good, how he handled the staff, how he interacted with his teammates and the pitching department and the catchers. There's a lot of positives in that."
Amaya went 3-for-13 at the plate with 2 RBI, but the outs included plenty of hard contact.
"I'm reluctant to overstate it because he's gotten hurt a couple of times, but a healthy version of him is him playing in the major leagues a long time," Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said.
On the slide:
Jed Hoyer shared his thoughts on the Cubs' frustrating stretch before Wednesday's game. While posting a 6-13 record in the last 19 games, the Cubs have endured six 1-run losses and three 2-run losses.
"Early in the year, we had four, five guys that were really hot at the same time and right now, we really don't have anyone in the middle that's carrying us," Hoyer said. "(On Tuesday), Nick (Madrigal) and Dansby (Swanson) got on base over and over, but at some point you need a 3-run homer, you need a grand slam, you need a 3-run double and we haven't had that in a long time."
Around the horn:
Right-handed pitcher Ben Brown threw 5 shutout innings with 10 strikeouts for Iowa on Wednesday, his second Triple A start. For the season, Brown has 47 strikeouts in 30.2 innings and a 0.59 ERA in six starts between Tennessee and Iowa. ... While Kyle Hendricks tossed 5 shutout innings in Iowa on Tuesday, he threw just 61 pitches. So there's no hurry to bring him back to the majors, unless the Cubs have an injury pop up. "Getting him a high pitch count is a priority for me," manager David Ross said. ... Ross joked about Christopher Morel getting so enthused during his 2023 Wrigley Field debut on Tuesday, he nearly cost the Cubs a mound visit, because he walked over to celebrate a double play by giving pitcher Javier Assad a high-five. "I had to make sure I reminded him, 'That's a mound visit. Save the high-fives for the dugout,'" Ross said with a laugh. "Luckily the umpires were gracious."
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