The Cubs and catcher Reese McGuire have agreed to a minor league deal, studies Aram Leighton of Simply Baseball. The Apex Baseball shopper will presumably obtain an invitation to main league spring coaching as properly.
McGuire, 30, has appeared previously seven huge league seasons as a part-time catcher. Spending time with the Blue Jays, White Sox and Crimson Sox, he has appeared in 355 video games and stepped to the plate 1,038 occasions. He has a .252/.300/.364 batting line in that point, which interprets to a wRC+ of 80.
Although that places him 20% beneath the league common hitter, it’s really not horrible manufacturing for his place, since catchers normally produce about 10% lower than par. Sadly, the final two years have seen him slide down a bit. With the Crimson Sox over 2023 and 2024, he slashed .242/.297/.331 for a wRC+ of 70.
Defensively, he’s typically gotten good marks. Retailers like Baseball Prospectus and Statcast think about him to have been a powerful framer, whereas his blocking and work with the operating sport have been near common.
When the offense was a bit stronger, McGuire was a helpful participant. FanGraphs thought-about him to have been value least 1.2 wins above alternative in every full season from 2019 to 2022. However as his bat dropped off over the previous two years, his worth slid together with it. Boston outrighted him off their roster in August and McGuire turned a free agent at season’s finish.
The Cubs solely have two catchers on their 40-man roster now in Miguel Amaya and Carson Kelly. Prospect Moisés Ballesteros needs to be pushing his manner into the combination finally however he’s solely 21 years outdated and has solely 68 Triple-A video games below his belt, so maybe he’ll spend a bit extra time within the minors. McGuire will give the membership a bit of additional depth with out taking over a roster spot for now. If he will get added at any level, he’s out of choices however his service clock is just under the five-year line, that means it’s theoretically potential for him to be retained by way of arbitration for 2026 if he has a roster spot at season’s finish.
