There’s some additional catching depth. Glad to see it, as I’d mentioned mild concerns about what would happen for the Cubs in a multiple-injury situation.
Long-time big league back-up catcher Reese McGuire is coming to the Cubs on a minor league deal, per Aram Leighton of Just Baseball on X. The 29-year-old backstop won’t supply much offense, but he’s long been very good defensively, and has loads of experience.
His career numbers, via FanGraphs:
The key here is that McGuire is coming to the Cubs on a minor league deal, which means he’s not taking up a 40-man roster spot, and there is a minimal financial commitment. Don’t love how he projects for 2025? Well, don’t worry about it! Because he’s the guy you have in place at Triple-A Iowa in case there are injuries at the big league level to Miguel Amaya and/or Carson Kelly, and you don’t want to have to press Moises Ballesteros or Pablo Aliendo into service earlier than preferred.
It’s just good to have depth available, and on a minor league deal, a guy like McGuire – with a whole lot of experience handling big league pitching staffs – is about as good as it gets.
More immediately, McGuire will pair with fellow veteran back-up catcher Carlos Perez in Spring Training, giving the Cubs two options for that depth catcher spot (in case someone gets hurt in Spring Training, for example, or if someone has an opt-out).