C Rene Rivera, claimed off waivers from the Mets on Aug. 19, is one of two veteran backstops the Cubs acquired this season. Alex Avila is the other and both continue to produce. On Sunday, Rivera went 2-for-3 with a double that drove in Chicago's only run in a loss to Milwaukee. He's 9-for-24 (.375) in his last seven games.

C Rene Rivera clubbed his first career grand slam in the second inning on Saturday, giving the Cubs a 4-0 lead. Acquired off waivers from the Mets on Aug. 19, the 34-year-old veteran launched an 0-2 pitch from Lucas Sims down the left-field line where it ricocheted off the foul pole for his ninth homer of the season drove in Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist and Jason Heyward.

C Rene Rivera, 34, claimed off waivers Saturday from the Mets, started behind the plate on Sunday. "I'm ready any time they need me," he said. Rivera said he wasn't surprised New York moved him and revealed that he used to watch the Cubs on TV with his grandfather. He went 1-for-3 and scored a run in his debut with Chicago.

C Rene Rivera was claimed off waivers from the New York Mets to add insurance at the position. Rivera has played all or part of nine major league seasons with the Seattle Mariners (2004-06), Minnesota Twins (2011), San Diego Padres (2013-14), Tampa Bay Rays (2015) and Mets (2016-17). The 34-year-old Rivera is a career .215 hitter with 34 home runs and 141 RBIs in 453 games. With the Mets this season, he is batting .230 with eight homers and 23 RBIs in 54 games.

The Chicago Cubs claimed veteran catcher Rene Rivera off waivers from the New York Mets on Saturday to add insurance at the position.Rivera has played all or part of nine major league seasons with the Seattle Mariners (2004-06), Minnesota Twins (2011), San Diego Padres (2013-14), Tampa Bay Rays (2015) and Mets (2016-17).The 34-year-old Rivera is a career .215 hitter with 34 home runs and 141 RBIs in 453 games. With the Mets this season, he is batting .230 with eight homers and 23 RBIs in 54 games.The Cubs lost catcher Willson Contreras to a hamstring injury on Aug. 9 and traded last month for Alex Avila from the Detroit Tigers. Rookie Victor Caratini was promoted from the minors after Contreras went down.Rivera has thrown out 10 of 31 runners attempting to steal this season, a 32.3 percent success rate, which would tie for third-best in the National League if he had enough games played to qualify. His success rate this year mirrors his career totals as he has thrown out 97 of 300 runners (32.3 percent) attempting to steal.Rivera is a native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and enjoyed his best major league season in 2014 with the Padres when he batted .252 and established career highs with 18 doubles, 11 homers and 44 RBIs in 103 games.To make room for Rivera on the 40-man roster, right-hander Aaron Brooks was designated for assignment.Brooks, 27, has gone 8-9 with a 6.20 ERA in 24 starts with Triple-A Iowa this season.

C Rene Rivera hit two home runs in the same game for the first time in his career in Sunday's 8-2 win over the San Francisco Giants. The multi-homer game was the 19th by a catcher and 15th by a Met this season. Both home runs came off Giants LHP Matt Moore.

C Rene Rivera had a rough night. Rivera took a foul tip off his left thigh, fouled off a pitch on his right leg in an at-bat in the fifth inning and then was hit by a pitch in the seventh inning. Rivera went 1-for-2 at the plate

C Rene Rivera's career-high 11-game hitting streak ended Saturday night, when he went 0-for-3 in the Mets' 7-5 win over the Angels. Rivera struck out in each of his first three at-bats before being intentionally walked in the eighth inning. He batted .395 (17-of-43) with 12 RBIs during the hitting streak, which was the longest active run in the majors and the longest by a Mets catcher since Ramon Castro's 11-game streak in 2007. Rivera is batting .308 with two homers and 14 RBIs in 24 games this season.

C Rene Rivera hit a two-run homer off RHP Zack Greinke in the seventh inning to extend his career-long hitting streak to 10 games. He is 16-for-39 with 11 RBIs during the streak. His .324 batting average is the fourth highest among catchers who have at least 50 at-bats.

C Rene Rivera appears primed to once again serve as the personal catcher for RHP Noah Syndergaard. The Mets hoped that starting C Travis d'Arnaud would be able to remain behind the plate for Syndergaard's starts, but d'Arnaud allowed four stolen bases in as many attempts during Syndergaard's final Grapefruit League start and manager Terry Collins acknowledged Rivera, who caught Syndergaard's final 15 starts last season, would likely start with Syndergaard on Opening Day on April 3.

C Rene Rivera threw out two Giants trying to steal Sunday night, helping RHP Noah Syndergaard get through eight shutout innings. Syndergaard had been the easiest pitcher to steal upon this season, having allowed 40 steals in the first 44 attempts. Rivera threw out Giants C Trevor Brown and 3B Eduardo Nunez.

C Rene Rivera had one of the best offensive days of his career Thursday, when he went 3-for-4 with an RBI in the Mets' 2-1 loss to the Rockies. Rivera delivered a run-scoring double in the second, doubled again in the fifth and singled in the seventh before lining out to the warning track in left field in the eighth. The three hits tie a career high for Rivera, who has three of his five three-hit games this season. Rivera is batting .357 with two homers and seven RBIs in eight games in July and .234 with four homers and 17 RBIs in 30 games overall this season.

C Rene Rivera went 3-for-4 with a RBI, his second three-hit game of the season. He also drove in the winning run with a ninth-inning base hit. Rivera is now 8-for-13 in his last three games against Chicago.

C Rene Rivera played his first game at Petco Park Friday night since he was the Padres' Most Valuable Player in the 2014 season. He was 0-for-2 with a walk.

C Rene Rivera is making a case for more playing time as he remains productive and Kevin Plawecki stumbles. Rivera has caught manager Terry Collins' eye, especially with Plawecki struggling to reach the Mendoza Line. Rivera was hitting .280 when called up from Triple-A, even if he was known as a defender and not much of a hitter. Rivera, 34, smacked a home run on Wednesday that put the Mets ahead for good in a win over the Braves. He also caught a shut out -- not a bad day which could lead to others.

C Rene Rivera made his debut with the Mets Saturday, when he went 0-for-3 with a run scored in a 6-5 win over the Giants. It was the first appearance in the majors this season for Rivera, who was signed by the Mets on April 5, six days after he was released by the Tampa Bay Rays. Rivera batted .280 with five RBIs in eight games at Triple-A Las Vegas before being promoted when C Travis d'Arnaud went on the disabled list Tuesday.

C Rene Rivera had his contract selected from Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday. Rivera takes the roster spot of C Travis d'Arnaud, who was placed on the disabled list with a right rotator cuff. With d'Arnaud sidelined, Rivera will backup C Kevin Plawecki. Rivera hit .280 with five RBIs in eight games for Las Vegas. He signed with the Mets on April 5, six days after he was released by the Tampa Bay Rays. Rivera hit .178 with five homers and 26 RBIs in 110 games for the Rays last season and has hit .211 with 20 homers and 92 RBI in 334 big league games since 2004.

C Rene Rivera was promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas after catcher Travis d'Arnaud was placed on the disabled list. Rivera, 32, has played parts of seven seasons with the Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays. He has a career batting average of .211.

C Rene Rivera avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.75 million deal on Friday.

Rivera's future with the Rays is in doubt after not getting a start with Chris Archer on the mound, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Any speculation aside, it's clear Rivera is frustrated. "My opinion, my feeling, is that they're probably not thinking about me for next year," Rivera told Topkin. "That's a good question for you to ask them." With Curt Casali, J.P Arencibia, and Luke Maile all presenting younger and more effective options, it would be a shock to see Rivera serve as the starter for the Rays in 2016. He's still a strong defender and could present an effective backup option, but you can only go so far with a .493 OPS.