The Chicago Cubs' title aspirations have hit an early speed bump this season with catcher Miguel Montero battling an injury to his back.
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Montero Placed on DL
Thursday, April 28
Per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times, the Cubs placed Montero on the disabled list and called up Tim Federowicz to take his place.
Montero sat out Chicago's game on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers with back stiffness.
After being acquired by the Cubs prior to last season, Montero had a strong bounce-back campaign with a .248/.345/.409 slash line in 113 games.
As good as Montero was with the bat in 2015, though, his real effect was felt on defense. He ranked sixth among all catchers in runs above average and plus-calls, which reflects the number of "favorable" strikes called received, per StatCorner.com.
Given the importance of catcher defense, Montero's absence will be felt by the Cubs. They do have a loaded roster, as well as other catching options, but none are as strong as Montero. David Ross is still a solid backstop, ranking 12th in runs above average last year.
Federowicz is a career backup who hasn't played in the big leagues since 2014 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He has a career slash line of .194/.247/.300 in 247 at-bats, but owns a strong throwing arm behind the plate with a caught-stealing percentage of 37, per Baseball-Reference.com.
Even though there are bigger stars on the Cubs, Montero is among the most indispensable players on the roster. His absence will change the dynamic with Chicago's pitchers, as well as manager Joe Maddon's lineup.
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