The Brewers have signed catcher Reese McGuire to a minor league contract and invited him to major league spring training, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reported last week that the two sides had been talking. McGuire is represented by Apex Baseball.
McGuire, 31 in March, is a former first-round pick and top prospect who’s played in parts of eight major league seasons with four teams — most recently the 2025 Cubs. He hit .226/.245/.444 (86 wRC+) in 140 turns at the plate with Chicago last year and is a career .248/.293/.374 hitter in 400 games and 1178 plate appearances as a big leaguer.
Though he never developed into much of a threat in the batter’s box, McGuire has been a frequently used backup in recent years, due primarily to his defensive acumen. He receives above-average grades for his framing, ability to block balls in the dirt and his throwing. He nabbed eight of 31 thieves on the bases this past season (25.9%) and has a career caught-stealing rate just over 27%.
McGuire has more than five years of major league service time, so if he makes the roster in Milwaukee, the Brewers won’t be able to option him to the minor leagues. As things stand, there would appear to be a good chance that McGuire can indeed break camp with the club. William Contreras is, of course, in line to handle the bulk of the Brewers’ catching work.
Prior to their deal with McGuire, there was no clear backup option. Top prospect Jeferson Quero is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster, but the Brewers aren’t going to have a 23-year-old top-100 prospect sit on the bench as a backup at the major league level. Bringing McGuire into the mix allows Milwaukee to send Quero to Triple-A Nashville where he can play regularly and continue his development. Quero notched 250 plate appearances in Triple-A last season, but that was his first exposure to the top minor league level and he posted only league-average offensive marks in that time. He’s the heir apparent to Contreras behind the dish but isn’t yet ready for a full-time major league look.
The Brewers could always bring in some more veteran catchers to create some competition in camp, but for now, McGuire jumps to the front of the pack as the likeliest in-house option to serve as Contreras’ backup in 2026.
played well down the stretch for the cubs, I am surprised that he couldnt parlay that into a backup opportunity somewhere. I’d say he is a top 60 catcher in the league.
He very well could be the backup there. Roster Resource currently has Jeferson Quero listed there. Doubt he’s going to break camp with the team.
Good for McGuire as I too believe he’s an MLB backup.
Didn’t he jack off in the fu#&’n parking lot?
God forbid a man has hobbies.
Yes, he spanked the ham back in 2019 I think.
“You dumb f$%k!”
Love the Cal Quantrill impression. Once there’s a news article, people never forget.
Yes. This is one of the reason why Cub fans called him McGooner.
Just be thankful there’s no player in MLB with the last Cider and the first name Dixon. Thom Brennaman wouldn’t know what to do with that name .
Thom Brennaman would have an aneurysm. I’m glad the Reds moved on from him, new guy is much better.
And that’s a deep drive to left by Castellanos…
XD XD XD, dude I didn’t even think of that meme! You nailed it!
Bro never heard of window tint, apparently
Or to just do that not in public where he can be seen. Hahaha
The dude was just hanging brain. If that’s a crime then lock me up
God Tier reference^^^
A little inside info on the Cubs’ pitching never hurt…
Cubs pitchers are mostly old and have been around for years. There isn’t really a big surprise coming anytime soon. So that’s ridiculous.
Right because professional athletes never try out new things or make adjustments, especially in the MLB! (end sarcasm)
I’m not saying McGuire is going to give Milwaukee some huge strategic advantage, but (again) a little inside info on the Cubs’ pitching never hurt…
In a pinch, he can certainly rub one out for the Brewers if they need it.
Hopefully he doesn’t choke up too hard on his bat
I thought he hit better than .226 for the Cubs. The hits he did get were all pretty big in the scheme of things. Bethancourt or McGuire and I think I would have picked McGuire since Amaya is a pretty good bet to hit the IL in any given season.
Ballesteros can catch if Amaya gets hurt, so technically Cubs have three options at catcher.
No he can’t. Unless yo want to see him run to the backstop every other pitch. He’s bad. He makes Sanchez look like Johnny Bench.
He’s a husky guy but nowhere near as bad as it looks. Husky catchers were once a thing, a little thickness is okay. But in all seriousness, he’s a DH really.
He’s not Kirk and never will be. EVER.
He had one hell of a Cubs debut. 2 homeruns that was later capped off by 2 homeruns but Henry Rowengardner’s step brother PCA. Including a go ahead grand slam
How are the parking lots in Milwaukee?
Snow-covered
People will never forget.
Seven years later, you would think they would grow up by now. Probably a close correlation with ongoing “banging the can” fixation
Carjacker!
Had a pretty nice season for the Cubs last year. Good backup option for the Brewers
Low risk signing with upside…especially if he can find his stroke 😉