CHICAGO – As expected, the Chicago Cubs are in the market for a catcher, according to team president Theo Epstein. After losing out on a free-agent bid for Russell Martin and letting backup John Baker go, the Cubs will head to San Diego for the winter meetings next week with catching on their wish list.

"We're confident going forward with Wely [Welington Castillo]," Epstein said Friday. "If you look around baseball and you see the catching that's out there, we think Welington does a nice job and has a promising future, but catching is one of the few areas on the field where we can add some veteran leadership -- in the near term, anyway -- and not block a potential impact player. That's a scenario we'll continue to look at. If you can have two good catchers, that's certainly better than one.”

Epstein’s mention of "blocking" a prospect is a reference to 2014 first-round pick Kyle Schwarber. The Cubs wouldn't mind a stopgap until Schwarber is ready, which probably won't be before 2016. But a short-term, defensive fix? That could work, particularly one known as a good receiver. That’s Castillo's weakness -- the 27-year-old ranked last in pitch framing last season, according to several websites that track the statistic.

"Wely has a chance to get better in certain areas," Epstein said. "He throws as well as anyone in the game. He blocks as well as anyone in the game. Receiving, framing, that's a potential area of growth for him. We're all going to continue to work with him."

That includes new quality assurance coach Henry Blanco. The former Cub will provide another set of ideas for Castillo.

"He did a nice job with the catchers last year in Arizona," Epstein said of Blanco.

Speaking of the Diamondbacks, reports continue to surface about the availability via trade of catcher Miguel Montero, among the league's top pitch framers. The 31-year-old is owed $40 million over the next three seasons and could bridge the gap to Schwarber. And his offense, for a catcher, is more than respectable -- he's averaged 14 home runs and 72 RBIs over the past four seasons. The Cubs haven't been linked publicly to Montero, but he could make sense as a left-handed complement to the right-handed-hitting Castillo.