Out on a limb: How Schwarber might handle catching after injury

SHARE Out on a limb: How Schwarber might handle catching after injury
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Kyle Schwarber in his first catching drill of the spring Friday. (Photo: John Antonoff for the Sun-Times)

MESA, Ariz. — If Kyle Schwarber has any real future as a catcher, his brief bullpen session Thursday with John Lackey might have offered a glimpse into what it might look like.

Think Tony Pena or Manny Sanguillen, only thicker.

Schwarber, who was cleared this week to catch for the first time since injuring his left knee last April, caught Lackey’s session with his left leg extended to keep pressure off the surgically repaired knee.

The Cubs aren’t counting on Schwarber to do any significant catching this season, and team officials probably would breathe easier if their prized young slugger gave up the position completely. But if Schwarber insists on continuing to catch, this might be how he keeps his knees intact doing it.

‘‘Tony Pena was really good at that,’’ manager Joe Maddon said of the former catcher from the 1980s and ’90s. ‘‘It’s a position you could take with less than two strikes and nobody on base. It’s something that a catcher can do to take some issue off of his legs or just present a lower target for the pitcher.’’

Maddon said he expects Schwarber to continue using the modified squat into the season and beyond, provided the count or situation doesn’t demand being in position to block a pitch or throw to a base.

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‘‘There’s no reason not to,’’ said Maddon, a former minor-league catcher and catching instructor. ‘‘Actually, if you set up like that, it’s somewhat easier to hold a lower strike. It’s somewhat easier to hold an edge, being that you’re preset in that way.’’

Whether Schwarber will be allowed do much catching during the regular season is doubtful. Even this spring, the Cubs’ plan calls for him to catch — in practice or games — no more than once or twice a week. On Thursday, he caught only Lackey’s session.

‘‘And, of course, he wanted to do more, and we said no,’’ said Maddon, who indicated Schwarber only did that much after meeting again with the medical staff in the morning.

The Cubs are counting on so much from Schwarber offensively this season, including being a significant part of how they replace Dexter Fowler in the leadoff spot, that they don’t plan to take any unnecessary chances on losing him to injury again.

Schwarber was hurt in an outfield collision with Fowler in his second game last season and didn’t play again until a surprisingly early return as the Cubs’ designated hitter in the World Series. He appears to be back to full strength and ready for the bulk of playing time in left field.

And he definitely is ready to tackle the leadoff spot.

‘‘Absolutely, yeah,’’ Maddon said. ‘‘He feels great. Obviously, he always feels like he’s being held back a bit, and that’s good. But talking to him specifically and talking to the medical types, he’s good. He’s good to go.’’

How much that translates to going behind the plate this season — or beyond — is questionable. And it might involve where he puts that left leg when he does.

Maddon was asked by an Arizona writer Thursday whether he could imagine Schwarber being able to catch as many as 40 games this season.

Maddon suggested 20 might be possible — ‘‘I mean, if everything breaks well for him and there’s a need’’ — but was quick to emphasize caution.

‘‘The main thing is to have him in the lineup,’’ Maddon said. ‘‘The main thing is to keep him healthy. He’s a young man. There’s many more years to come, so you don’t want to jeopardize the potential to catch him in the future, either. All that stuff has to be weighed in making that decision.’’

Follow me on Twitter @GDubCub.

Email: gwittenmyer@suntimes.com


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