Cubs 'looking for catching', could trade for top Mariners prospect before deadline

Could the Chicago Cubs deal their Gold Glove infielder to the Seattle Mariners for one of baseball's best catcher prospects?

The catcher position is one of the most glaring areas of need for Chicago at present. None of the Cubs catchers have produced anything offensively this season.

Chicago traded Yan Gomes in June after Gomes hit .154/ .179/ .242 through 34 games, and Gomes’ replacement, Tomás Nido, has just one hit through his first seven games with the Cubs.

Chicago’s other catcher, Miguel Amaya, hasn’t fared much better at the plate this season. Amaya is hitting .189/ .253/ .260 in 187 plate appearances (62 games).

Amaya is just 25 years old, but he doesn’t slash well enough to be considered the Cubs’ backstop of the future.

Chicago could climb out of its current catcher problem by trading for a young, talented player at the position and allowing that player to develop on the fly at the Major League level, much like the Cubs are doing with their 22-year-old base-stealing phenom, Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Conveniently for Chicago, one of baseball's most gifted catcher prospects, Harry Ford, plays in the farm system of the Seattle Mariners, who are reported suitors for Cubs second-baseman Nico Hoerner.

MLB Network’s Jon Morosi linked Ford to the Cubs on Wednesday just ahead of Chicago’s game versus the Philadelphia Phillies.

“The Seattle Mariners … are a team I’ve heard a lot with Nico Hoerner in the past,” Morosi said. “They have a young catcher in Harry Ford who could potentially be an option (with) the Cubs looking for catching.”

Acquiring Ford from Seattle would be seen as a savvy move by Cubs president Jed Hoyer, who could use some positive press these days.

If Chicago is already in talks to deal Hoerner (as has been reported), why not turn Hoerner into a player like Ford who fills a positional need and injects the roster with some youth heading into next season and beyond?

More MLB: Cubs superstar slugger linked to Mariners in potential blockbuster trade