Cubs manager Craig Counsell said Wednesday that he expects Amaya (oblique) to return from the 60-day injured list ahead of the team's series in Toronto early next week, Mike McGraw of the Chicago Daily Herald reports.

EDGE Analysis

Amaya has been shelved since May 25 due to a left oblique strain but is nearing the finish line in his recovery after he was cleared to begin a rehab assignment July 22. After spending the first three games of his assignment in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League, Amaya has moved up to Triple-A Iowa for his last six contests and has gone 5-for-16 with a 2:4 BB:K and no extra-base hits during that stretch. Once he's reinstated from the IL, Amaya will likely displace Reese McGuire as the top backup to No. 1 catcher Carson Kelly.