Report: Cubs Continue To Show Most Interest In Tigers' Alex Avila
(CBS) The Cubs continue to show the most interest in Tigers catcher Alex Avila as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches, USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported Thursday afternoon.
The 30-year-old Avila is having arguably the best season of his nine-year career, all of which has been spent in Detroit. Avila was hitting .286 with 11 homers, 29 RBIs and a .921 OPS in 69 games entering play Thursday.
The Cubs -- including pitching coach Chris Bosio -- have expressed a desire to add a veteran catcher to their team after they recently designated Miguel Montero for assignment. Regular catcher Willson Contreras is in his second season, and the Cubs have also been relying on rookie Victor Caratini behind the plate.
"If you do look back, a lot of the rosters that have success in postseasons, I can't ever think of one that had two first-year catchers," Bosio said on 670 The Score on July 5. "So yeah, veteran guys know what they're talking about, because they've been around. So I'm not going to disagree with it. It's really tough to win with a lot of guys that have been here for the first time. Last year, we had an exceptional year with a lot of first-year players, but some of those guys got their feet wet the previous year. So it's just a little bit different."
