How does NL Central stack up at catcher?

Now that MLB teams and their players are moving forward with an on-time start to Spring Training -- subject to agreeing on health-and-safety protocols -- it's time to go around the horn in the National League Central for a position-by-position look at each team.

Our weekly series starts behind the plate. Here are the backstops who are about to be very busy as pitchers and catchers report to camps:

BREWERS

The known: The Brewers are returning their primary catchers in Omar Narváez and Manny Piña, both of whom will be looking to bounce back. Narváez came to Milwaukee last winter via trade with the Mariners bearing a reputation as a plus hitter who needed work on his defense, and he proved to be the exact opposite during the shortened season. He led Statcast’s framing leaderboard but hit .176/.294/.269. That led to more opportunities for Piña, who posted a respectable .744 OPS before tearing the meniscus in his right knee and undergoing season-ending surgery. The Brewers opted to re-sign both players (each was arbitration-eligible), and Narváez remains atop the depth chart.

The unknown: How will the rest of the depth chart shake out? Jacob Nottingham and David Freitas have each seen big league time with the Brewers in recent years, but they are out of options going into 2021. The Brewers also signed Luke Maile to a one-year deal in free agency, and Maile has options. That means he’s likely to bounce between the Majors and Minors as needed. As if five catchers on the 40-man roster aren’t enough, the Brewers have a sixth in Mario Feliciano, the club's No. 4 prospect who was added in November to shield him from the Rule 5 Draft. It’s a jumbled field, but at least it’s a position of depth for a team trying to score more runs than last year.

-- Adam McCalvy

CARDINALS

The known: Let’s operate under the assumption that Yadier Molina will be in a Cardinals jersey in 2021, which is the expectation and could happen this week. Then, St. Louis’ catching situation becomes crystal clear -- and the same as it’s been for the past 17 years. Molina’s 81 OPS+ in the pandemic-shortened season was among the lowest of his career, but he helped anchor the pitching staff through a turbulent season to a top 10 finish by ERA standards. He’ll be the clear-cut No. 1 in 2021, returning alongside Adam Wainwright as one of the most enduring batteries in Major League history.

The unknown: Before 2020’s shortened slate, Molina had appeared in at least 110 games for 15 consecutive years. But he’ll turn 39 during the 2021 season, so it’s worth wondering whether that can hold true and who might back him up. In the running are Andrew Knizner and Tyler Heineman. Knizner, 26 and a former top prospect for the club, is the heir apparent and appeared in eight games in 2020. But if the Cards don’t want him potentially losing reps in an understudy role, Heineman, 29, will compete for the backup spot on a Minor League deal.

-- Zach Silver

CUBS

The known: The trade that sent Yu Darvish from the Cubs to the Padres earlier this winter was stunning, but not only because Chicago dealt away an ace. A surprising element to the deal was the inclusion of catcher Victor Caratini, removing an experienced and valuable layer of depth. That said, the Cubs remain solid behind the plate with two-time All-Star Willson Contreras in the lead role. Contreras had a slight drop-off offensively by his standards (.763 OPS) in 2020, but he improved immensely with his framing (1.7 Framing Runs per FanGraphs, following -8.9 in 2019 and -18.2 in '18). Dating back to '17, Contreras has ranked fourth in wRC+ (115) and fifth in homers (62) and RBIs (218) among all MLB catchers (min. 800 plate appearances). The Cubs signed veteran Austin Romine to a one-year deal to replace Caratini as Contreras’ backup. That buys more development time for catching prospect Miguel Amaya, who is ranked No. 89 on MLB Pipeline’s 2021 Top 100 Prospects list. Another internal depth option is the versatile P.J. Higgins.

The unknown: In an offseason full of changes for the Cubs -- who have made no secret that planning for the future is a priority -- trade rumors have followed Contreras. He is under control through 2022, so he is a valuable trade chip. That said, Chicago is trying to remain competitive in ’21, and Contreras is a key part of that picture. If the Cubs did move Contreras, that would create a massive hole, especially with Amaya not yet ready for the big leagues.

-- Jordan Bastian

PIRATES

The known: In a year of uncertainty about the long-term fit for players, Jacob Stallings is one of the surest bets one could make on a Pirates player who will stick at his position, barring injury. Stallings provides a competitive at-bat in the back end of the order, but defense is his calling card. In 2019, he was third in strike zone runs saved (rSZ) with 11, and he was second in the Majors last season with nine caught-stealings. Pirates pitchers have raved about Stallings’ ability to call a game and command the strike zone with his glove.

The unknown: Michael Perez is lined up to be the Pirates’ backup behind the plate, but can he turn around his offensive downturn to give the team relief if Stallings is injured or needs a day off? After batting .258/.321/.367 in his first two seasons, Perez hit a meager .167/.237/.238 in 2020 -- translating to a 34 OPS+ (100 is league average). Andrew Susac hasn’t seen 10 games in a single season since '15, but he’s in the fold if the Pirates need to turn to him instead.

-- Jake Crouse

REDS

The known: The Reds will have two primary catchers in veteran Tucker Barnhart and one of their top prospects, Tyler Stephenson, after Curt Casali was non-tendered. Barnhart is a two-time NL Gold Glove Award winner, including in 2020 when he led Major League catchers with nine defensive runs saved and was fourth in the NL with 5.8 dWAR, according to FanGraphs. Offensively, he gave up switch-hitting last year to bat exclusively from the left side, but he struggled during the first month of the season. In his final 16 games, Barnhart heated up to hit four homers. Utility player Kyle Farmer has experience catching and can be viewed as the No. 3 catcher, which gives manager David Bell late-game flexibility with his bench.

The unknown: Stephenson doesn’t have a long big league track record after he went 5-for-17 in eight games over two callups in 2020. The right-handed hitter also slugged two homers -- one in his July 27 debut and a walk-off homer on Sept. 14. Even though Stephenson skipped Triple-A, the organization liked his growth defensively and with game calling while at Spring Training and the alternate site. He will continue to grow working with Barnhart and catching coach J.R. House. But it remains to be seen how Bell will divide playing time and it may not involve a straight platoon.

-- Mark Sheldon