When the Cubs signed Christian Bethancourt to a minor league deal back in July, it flew way under the radar for a couple reasons. For one, it was the day after the 4th of July, so a lot of folks were probably doing other things. For another, the Cubs had already swapped out Yan Gomes for Tomas Nido, and that was the catching change in the minds of most.
The way I framed the signing at the time: “To the extent you felt the Cubs had a hole at Iowa for an established veteran big-league-ish back-up catcher, they have now filled that hole. Christian Bethancourt is probably not a big-league-caliber back-up at this point, but as an emergency third option, not a bad pick-up on a minor league deal.”
Well𒐪 then. Not bad for an emergency third option! But Bethancourt has become much more than that, and V♋ERY CLEARLY IS at least a big-league-caliber back-up at this point.
That includes yesterday’s heroics, when his SEVEN RBI helped the Cubs come back from a seven run deficit and win the game over the Pirates.
Bonus awesomeness from the game-winning hit: it turns out that Bethancourt was being heckled by a fan as theꦬ Pirates intentionally walked Pete-Crow Armstrong to bring Bethancourt to the plate with two outs.
“I had one fan yelling at me really loud♍, like, ‘You stink!’” Bethancourt said, . “Soꦛ that went through my mind. I was like, ‘You can not stink this time. You’ve got to make him shut up.’ And that’s what I did.”
Bethancourt, after signing that minor league deal, came up as the Cubs’ back-up when Nido hurt his knee a little over a month ago, and has kinda been hilarious since then. He’s hitting .407/.448/.889/265 wRC+ with the Cubs, humbling even the scorching hot catcher who starts ahead of him. Of course, that comes in just 29 plate appearances for Bethancourt, so it may not MEAN anything – it’s just been really, really enjoyable, and he’s been really, really productive.
“I don’t know how you can play better than he’s played,” manager Craig Counsell said of Bethancourt’s time with the team, . “It’s been sparing at-bats, and every time he’s in there, there are extra-base hits, there are RBIs, throwing out runners. He’s been unbelievable. How can you play better than he’s played since he’s been here?”
Give Bethancourt a lot of credit for grinding, finding a way back to the big leagues, and then making the most of his opportunity. Turning 33 next month, Bethancourt might’ve been at risk this year of seeing his career end before he was ready for it, after a very down 2023 season and then a miserable start to this year in Miami. Now, he might very well be playing his way into a back-up job somewhere this offseason.
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