The Cubs and catcher Reese McGuire have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Aram Leighton of Just Baseball. The Apex Baseball client will presumably receive an invite to major league spring training as well.
McGuire, 30, has appeared in the past seven big league seasons as a part-time catcher. Spending time with the Blue Jays, White Sox and Red Sox, he has appeared in 355 games and stepped to the plate 1,038 times. He has a .252/.300/.364 batting line in that time, which translates to a wRC+ of 80.
Though that puts him 20% below the league average hitter, it’s actually not terrible production for his position, since catchers usually produce about 10% less than par. Unfortunately, the last two years have seen him slide down a bit. With the Red Sox over 2023 and 2024, he slashed .242/.297/.331 for a wRC+ of 70.
Defensively, he’s generally gotten good marks. Outlets like Baseball Prospectus and Statcast consider him to have been a strong framer, while his blocking and work with the running game have been close to average.
When the offense was a bit stronger, McGuire was a useful player. FanGraphs considered him to have been worth least 1.2 wins above replacement in each full season from 2019 to 2022. But as his bat dropped off over the past two years, his value slid along with it. Boston outrighted him off their roster in August and McGuire became a free agent at season’s end.
The Cubs only have two catchers on their 40-man roster now in Miguel Amaya and Carson Kelly. Prospect Moisés Ballesteros should be pushing his way into the mix eventually but he’s only 21 years old and has only 68 Triple-A games under his belt, so perhaps he’ll spend a bit more time in the minors. McGuire will give the club a bit of extra depth without taking up a roster spot for now. If he gets added at any point, he is out of options but his service clock is just below the five-year line, meaning it’s theoretically possible for him to be retained via arbitration for 2026 if he has a roster spot at season’s end.
Parking lots all over Chicago shuddering
Wait, is this the player that spanked the ham at a public place not too long ago?
Nice! We got a celebrity player in Chicago, again!
Ham, Salami, a whole Subway gallery of cold cuts
Perhaps next year he’ll get his chance with the Ham Fighters…
“Not too long ago”
Not a Reese apologist but it was 5 years ago
Maybe Reese McGuire can catch a few tips from Kerry Wood?
No more than just the tip?
Depends, does defendant have any Mark Priors?
Opposing clubs should play Pee Wee Herman’s “Tequila” sing when Reese comes to the plate.
Or Michael Jackson, “Just beat it”?
If history has taught us anything it’s McGuire and “Wood” go hand-in-hand…
Username checks
comments here wasting no time beating around the bush
Even Foster Farms does not choke that many chickens
Reese is getting Mastrobuoni’s locker
Not many catchers known for their squeeze play
What a load off his mind that he received an offer.
You’ll have a hard time BEATING this signing.
They had strict admissions requirements but only Reese could beat it
Dang I thought James McCann would be next. No pun in this comment. Move along
I spoke to Reese about the Roger Beshens football slider in a Florida parking lot a few years back. He seemed so excited about the prospect, he practically perked up. He said it’s a pitch that couldn’t be beat. He said it could get any hitter off.
Chicago can be a dangerous place, I hear car jacking is rampant.
Well the Cubs are located in Boys town
Petition to make his official nickname “The Wanker”
They couldn’t afford Winker, so…
I’m so here for the comments haha
He’s a handy guy to have on your team.
Grease McGuire would’ve been handy on the Mariners. He seems like a sea man.
Come on Reese, we’re all pulling for you.
Well look at that. Guess the Cubs do know jack
So Jed, what did get done on your day off Monday?
I was hoping the Blue Jays would pick him up. He is better than average defensively, he hits left handed and he can hit a little but not much power. He can also catch 60+ games which would be a good complement to Kirk.
He’s valuable as a back up, especially as a lefty. I’m glad the comparisons extended to other catchers. Metrics don’t tell the full story and it’s stupid to compare a catcher’s offense to that of a typical run producer. Compare a catcher to other catchers and pinch hitters since that’s his role. Also, enough of the jokes. It was not just yesterday and no I’ve never been arrested myself. Everyone has had embarrassing situations, some more embarrassing than others and what he did should not be a life sentence.
Dewey – Well said. Most in this site have the IQ of a pebble.
He can really stroke it
What our world is coming to… I come to look for baseball comments and it’s filled with dirty minds instead
It’s a real tearjerker
McGuire strokes the ball and gives an honest hard 90.
Soft hands and a strong arm. However, In the biggest moments you’ll notice stamina to be lacking and always leave you disappointed.
Here’s hoping the year ahead offers him a climax that will be remembered for years to come.
Sometimes you gotta let one go in the parking lot
I hope Reese McGuire plays another 10 years. I never get tired of the comment section.
Kudos to the MLBTR staff for not turning off the comments on this one.
Just read that McGuire’s walkup song will be MJ’s “Beat It”.
Billy Squier wants a word with you.
nice….
Something by Divinyls is probably more fitting…
Possibly. Not sure why “Beat it” came to mind first but it is what it is.
These comments did not disappoint
I know I thought I was gonna come in here with the only joke about this but I guess everyone knows
I wonder what it would look like if there wasn’t the incident in Colorado last season
One tool player
80 grade tool though, she said.
He’s really going to help the Cubs pitchers with their long toss sessions.
Jed loves those minor league deals far too much.
Sorry, but I thought this signing was a stroke of genius.
I literally just watched the Jomboy video on this subject.
He’ll enjoy wriggley field I’m sure