Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Transactions

Angels, J.D. Davis Agree To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Angels and infielder J.D. Davis are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The ALIGND Sports client will be in big league camp with the Halos as a non-roster invitee this spring.

Davis, 32 in April, scuffled through his worst season since establishing himself as a big leaguer in 2024. In 46 games and 157 plate appearances between the A’s and Yankees, he hit just .218/.293/.338 — a notable drop-off for a player who from 2019-23 slashed .268/.352/.443 between the Mets and Giants. Davis actually cut his strikeout rate to 24.8% — three points lower than in 2023 and nearly nine percentage points shy of his 2022 mark — but his walk rate fell below average and his batted-ball profile eroded. From ’19-’23, Davis averaged 91.2 mph off the bat and hit 47.1% of his batted balls at least 95 mph; in 2024, he averaged 89.1 mph off the bat and had a 43.7% hard-hit rate.

Davis has played both infield corners and left field in his career, though the majority of his time has come at the hot corner. He hasn’t graded well there or in left field but has more passable defensive marks in 465 innings at first base. With the Angels, he’ll compete for a bench job and provide some depth behind oft-injured third baseman Anthony Rendon and young first baseman Nolan Schanuel.

The Halos’ bench is mostly full right now, with backup catcher Travis d’Arnaud, utilityman Kevin Newman and fourth outfielder Mickey Moniak all seemingly locked into spots. Infielder/outfielder Scott Kingery and non-roster invitee Tim Anderson could vie for that final spot alongside Davis and others. Kingery is on the 40-man roster but has minor league options remaining. None of d’Arnaud, Newman or Moniak can be optioned.

An exact timeline on shortstop Zach Neto, who underwent shoulder surgery following the season, isn’t yet known. However, there’s a chance he could start the season on the injured list. That’d give Davis and other non-roster players in camp a better chance at winning a spot. If Neto indeed opens the year on the injured list, one of Newman or Anderson would presumably get the nod at shortstop to begin the season.

Braves Sign Jurickson Profar

By | at

The Braves announced that they have signed free agent outfielder Jurickson Profar to a three-year, $42MM deal. The MVP Sports Group client will make $12MM this year and then $15MM in each of the next two seasons. Atlanta designated right-hander Connor Gillispie in a corresponding move.

Profar, 32, has been wildly inconsistent in his career but is coming off his best season. Once a top prospect with the Rangers, he made it to the majors as a 19-year-old but struggled in his first few seasons. He eventually showed some promise but frustratingly alternated between good and bad seasons.

He had one of those down seasons in 2023, which is why the Padres were able to sign him last offseason for just $1MM, barely above the league minimum. The Padres probably couldn’t have dreamed about the return on investment they would eventually get from that.

Profar got into 158 games and stepped to the plate 668 times. His 15.1% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate were both strong numbers but fairly normal for him. He managed to do more damage when he connected, without sacrificing any of his trademark plate discipline. His 24 home runs were a career high. The three numbers in his .280/.380/.459 slash line were all personal bests as well, apart from a .471 slugging percentage in his nine-game debut back in 2012. His 139 wRC+ easily eclipsed his previous personal high of 113 and was also put him in the top 15 among qualified hitters last year. The switch-hitter did that damage from both sides of the plate, with a 137 wRC+ as a lefty and 147 as a righty.

Given his capricious production over the years, it would be fair to be a bit skeptical that he could keep that kind of performance going. However, there are some encouraging numbers under the hood. Profar’s 44.8% hard hit hate rate, 91.1 mile-per-hour average exit velocity and 7.2% barrel rate were all significantly better than anything he had done before. His .302 batting average on balls in play was a career high but just a bit above the .291 league average.

Though Profar has played all over the diamond in his career, he’s mostly a left fielder now. He’s barely played the other outfield slots in his career. He hasn’t really been an infield regular since 2019. He logged just 18 innings at first base last year, the only place he played apart from left field during the campaign.

Profar’s work in left hasn’t been especially well regarded. Last year, he was given a grade of -8 from Defensive Runs Saved and -6 from Outs Above Average. Despite that, thanks to his huge offense and ten stolen bases, FanGraphs considered him to be worth 4.3 wins above replacement on the season.

That production was huge for the Padres, given that they had notable financial restraints, which is why they took that $1MM flier on Profar. They surely would have welcomed him back, given the longstanding ties between Profar and president of baseball operations A.J. Preller. However, their financial situation is perhaps even more grim now than it was a year ago. They reportedly need to make significant cuts to the budget while also looking for solutions on the roster. In addition to Profar’s absence in left, they have question marks behind the plate, in the rotation and at shortstop.

Profar has also expressed a fondness for San Diego and probably wanted to go back, but he also probably recognized that this is probably his best chance at a free agent payday. He had previously signed a three-year, $21MM deal with the Padres going into 2021 but opted out of that pact after two years. He settled for modest one-year deals in the past two offseasons but has now secured himself a strong three-year deal. MLBTR predicted a three-year, $45MM deal for him at the start of the offseason.

For Atlanta, outfield has stood out as a clear area for improvement this winter. Ronald Acuña Jr. suffered a torn ACL in his left knee last year and missed the second half of the season. He’ll be back in right field at some point in 2025 but probably not on Opening Day. Players like Ramón Laureano and Jorge Soler were used to cover for Acuña’s absence but jettisoned after the season. Soler was flipped to the Angels while Laureano was non-tendered. The club’s acquisition of Jarred Kelenic last offseason also didn’t go especially well. He struck out 29.6% of the time and hit .231/.286/.393 for a wRC+ of 86.

Time will tell how the club plans to play it once everyone is healthy. Michael Harris II will be in center but Atlanta has its designated hitter spot committed to Marcell Ozuna. Profar and Kelenic can flank Harris for now but Acuña will eventually be back. The lefty-swinging Kelenic has better numbers against righties but the club presumably isn’t giving the Profar $42MM to be a short-side platoon guy.

Perhaps Kelenic will eventually get pushed into a fourth outfielder role once Acuña is back, though he may have a bit of time to prove himself worthy of more. Ozuna is an impending free agent, so perhaps the foursome of Harris, Acuña, Profar and Kelenic can better co-exist in 2026 and beyond. Kelenic does have an option remaining, so some time in the minors is possible as well.

With Profar now in the fold, RosterResource calculates Atlanta’s payroll at $212MM and their competitive balance tax number at $230MM. The latter is $11MM shy of this year’s base threshold. They opened last year at $223MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has previously said that he expects payroll to rise and that the club is willing to pay the tax again this year. However, most of his moves have been focused on adding financial breathing room. As mentioned, Soler was flipped in a salary dump and Laureano was cut. Travis d’Arnaud had his club option turned down. The club restructured the contracts of Aaron Bummer and Reynaldo López to kick some money down the road.

If there is still some powder dry, then perhaps Atlanta will pivot to adding some pitching in the coming weeks. They were connected to Nathan Eovaldi earlier in the winter and reportedly had an agreement in place with Jeff Hoffman, with Hoffman to be stretched out as a starter, before they grew concerned by something they saw in his shoulder during his physical. They were also connected to reliever Tanner Scott earlier in the winter. All those guys have signed elsewhere but the interest indicates Atlanta is looking to add to the staff.

For clubs still looking for outfield help, the market is essentially out of everyday players now. Juan Soto, Teoscar Hernández, Anthony Santander, Tyler O’Neill and Profar are now all off the board. The best remaining outfielders are role players like Harrison Bader, Randal Grichuk and Alex Verdugo. Clubs like the Royals, Astros and Blue Jays have been connected to Profar this winter, though the Jays signed Santander earlier this week.

Gillispie, 27, just signed a non-guaranteed contract with Atlanta in November. He made his major league debut with Cleveland last year but only logged eight innings and was non-tendered at season’s end. In his minor league career, he has thrown 426 1/3 innings with a 4.01 earned run average, 24.3% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate. Atlanta will have one week of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for him. Since the waiver process takes 48 hours, any potential trade talks would have to come together in the next five days.

Robert Murray of FanSided was first with the agreement between Atlanta and Profar.

Diamondbacks Sign Josh Winder To Minor League Contract

By | at

The D-Backs signed righty Josh Winder to a minor league deal with an invitation to MLB Spring Training. The deal was announced by the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Reno.

Winder moves to the second organization of his career. He was a seventh-round pick by the Twins back in 2018. The 6’5″ hurler pitched very well up through Double-A. He was selected to the Futures Game in 2021 and ranked as the #6 prospect in a solid Minnesota farm system on Baseball America’s organizational report the following winter. At the time, some prospect evaluators felt he had a mid-rotation ceiling.

That hasn’t materialized at the major league level. Winder started 11 of 15 games as a rookie in 2022. He posted a 4.70 ERA across 67 innings. Minnesota moved him to the bullpen the next year. Winder tossed 34 2/3 MLB innings across 19 relief appearances. He pitched 18 times in Triple-A. Winder struggled at both stops and fell further down the depth chart going into 2024. He only made four MLB appearances last season, allowing four runs (three earned) over nine innings. He surrendered a 6.15 earned run average across 41 Triple-A frames.

Winder has battled shoulder issues dating back to the second half of the 2021 campaign. He spent time on the minor league injured list with shoulder injuries every year between 2021-23. A stress fracture in his shoulder blade cost him the first two months of last season. That has perhaps contributed to Winder’s underwhelming 5.49 ERA through parts of four Triple-A seasos. He owns a 4.39 mark across 110 2/3 major league innings, though his 18% strikeout rate is well below average.

Arizona could keep the 28-year-old in relief or give him another rotation opportunity if they feel his shoulder will hold up. Winder has shown strong command and mixes five pitches. His four-seam fastball sat around 94 MPH during his rotation work a few seasons back. It ticked up to 95 MPH on average in his limited big league action last season.

JB Bukauskas Accepts Outright Assignment With Brewers

By | at

The Brewers have passed right-hander JB Bukauskas through waivers and outrighted him to Triple-A, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The righty was designated for assignment last week. He had the right to elect free agency but has decided to accept, per Hogg, and will be in camp with the Brewers as a non-roster invitee.

Bukauskas, 28, has been with the Brewers for almost two years now. He was claimed off waivers from the Mariners in April of 2023. Despite that fairly lengthy span of time on the roster, he hasn’t pitched much for the big league team, spending much of it on optional assignment or on the injured list.

Lack of health was the story last year, as a right lat strain kept him on the IL for most of 2024. He was only able to toss six innings in the majors and another six in the minors. When combined with his previous seasons, including time with the Diamondbacks and Mariners, his big league track record is still small. He has 30 1/3 innings in total, having allowed 5.04 earned runs per nine.

Despite that limited résumé, Bukauskas is appealing in other ways. He’s a former first-round pick and was once a top 100 prospect. He’s also shown flashes of his potential in the minors. In his 83 2/3 innings on the farm over the past four years, he has a 3.23 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate. He still has one more option year remaining.

But that’s apparently not enough to get him a roster spot at the moment, on the heels of his injury-marred season. That suggests he would likely be limited to minor league deals if he were to head out to the open market. He had the right to do so because he was previously outrighted in his career, but decided to stay with the Brewers and accept an invite to camp. He should be looking to show his health and effectiveness in camp as he tries to push for an opportunity to prove himself in 2025.

Mets Sign A.J. Minter

By | at

The Mets announced that they have signed free agent reliever A.J. Minter. It’s reportedly a two-year, $22MM contract. The Bledsoe Agency client can opt out after the first season. The Mets had an opening on the 40-man roster.

Minter, 31, has been a strong performer in recent years. However, there is at least some uncertainty due to his health. He went on the injured list twice in 2024 due to left hip inflammation and eventually underwent surgery in August.

It’s unclear exactly when Minter will be fully healthy again but the surgery doesn’t seem to have hurt his market. He’s been connected to the Blue Jays, Cubs, Rangers and Red Sox over the past couple of months and now has a strong pact with the Mets. Perhaps that indicates clubs aren’t too worried about his recovery from the hip procedure impacting him in 2025.

Just looking at Minter’s results, the robust interest makes plenty of sense. From 2020 to 2024, the lefty made 267 relief appearances, allowing 2.85 earned runs per nine innings. He struck out 30.1% of batters faced while limiting walks to a 7.8% clip. He was a key relief arm for Atlanta, who let him earn 16 saves and 92 holds in that time. Even while pitching through the hip problems in 2024, he managed to throw 34 1/3 innings with a 2.62 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate.

Despite the hip surgery, it was fair to expect Minter to be one of the most popular relief arms in this winter’s market. MLBTR predicted him for a two-year, $16MM pact but almost all pitchers have been outearning their projections this winter, with Minter no exception. He gets a $22MM guarantee and also an opt-out, meaning he will have the ability to become a free agent again next winter if he demonstrates his health and has a strong season.

The Mets are a sensible landing spot for Minter, as their bullpen is in a state of flux. At the end of the 2024 season, they saw Brooks Raley, Adam Ottavino, Ryne Stanek, Drew Smith and Phil Maton become free agents.

The club also came into the winter particularly shorthanded in terms of left-handed relief. Raley was one such member on the 2024 club, though he underwent Tommy John surgery at the end of May, well before he became a free agent. Jake Diekman was released during the season. Josh Walker was traded around the same time. Alex Young was non-tendered at the end of the year.

All of that left the Mets with Danny Young as their only southpaw reliever on the roster, so an addition made plenty of sense. They signed Génesis Cabrera to a minor league deal and have been connected to free agents like Tanner Scott and Tim Hill. Signing either Scott or Hill could still be an option but the lefty contingent of the Mets bullpen now looks much stronger with Minter in it. Per Mike Puma of The New York Post, the Mets are unlikely to continue pursuing Scott with Minter now on board.

For the Mets, perhaps this is yet another move away from their relationship with Pete Alonso. As recently as yesterday morning, it seemed possible that the Mets and Alonso would work something out. But reporting from yesterday afternoon indicated that the Mets didn’t want to have a prolonged staredown with Alonso. Since they had other players on their radar, they planned instead to move on and spread money around to various different players. In the past 24 hours, they have agreed to new deals with Jesse Winker and now Minter.

The deal with Minter pushed the club’s payroll and competitive balance tax number up to $297MM and $293MM respectively, in the eyes of RosterResource. Last year, those numbers were $336MM and $346MM. If they are willing to get to similar levels in 2025, they still have lots of space to work with. That could be enough room to bring back Alonso but the Mets might also look to make further bullpen upgrades.

They are already between the third and four tiers of the CBT, which are $281MM and $301MM this year. As a third-time payor, they will be facing a tax of 95% for any more money they add up to the fourth line and a 110% rate for spending beyond it. Since Steve Cohen became owner of the team, the tax has never really seemed to be any kind of obstacle for the Mets.

Andy Martino of SNY first reported that the Mets had an agreement with Minter. Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported the two-year, $22MM guarantee. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was first on the opt-out provision.

Yankees Claim Roansy Contreras

By | at

The Yankees announced Thursday that they’ve claimed right-hander Roansy Contreras off waivers from the Orioles. Baltimore designated Contreras for assignment last week. He’ll now return to his original organization. The Yanks signed Contreras as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic back in 2016. He spent nearly five years in their organization and emerged as one of their better pitching prospects before being included in the trade netting righty Jameson Taillon from the Pirates in Jan. 2021. Coincidentally, today’s claim comes on the eve of that trade’s four-year anniversary.

At the time of the trade, Contreras was quite well regarded. His first season in the Pirates organization did nothing to dull that reputation. In 13 starts between Double-A and Triple-A, he logged a 2.64 ERA with plus strikeout and walk rates. The Bucs game him his MLB debut late in the season, and he fired three scoreless relief innings that December. In 2022, Contreras looked like he’d grabbed hold of a long-term rotation spot in the Steel City. He appeared in 21 games, 18 of them starts, and notched a 3.79 ERA with a 21.1% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate. Both of those rates were a bit worse than average, but for a 22-year-old in his first big league season, it was hard not to be impressed.

The following season, however, Contreras lost more than a mile per hour off his fastball and saw opponents ambush him for a 6.59 earned run average across 68 1/3 MLB frames. He was hit hard in Triple-A, too, barely keeping his ERA under 5.00 in eight trips to the hill.

Out of minor league options and losing his grip on a roster spot, Contreras was designated for assignment by the Pirates back in May. The Angels picked him up in a cash swap and leaned on him for 52 innings of low-leverage relief. Contreras held his own with a 4.33 ERA and more questionable rate stats (17.9 K%, 10.6 BB%).

Since the end of the season, Contreras has bounced from the Angels to the Rangers to the Reds to the Orioles and now to the Yankees — all by way of waivers. On the one hand, the constant DFAs are surely a point of frustration. On the other, the fact that he’s yet to make it through waivers and has been with one-sixth of the league since the end of the season alone illustrates that clubs still believe there’s at least a competent MLB reliever to be unlocked.

If he lasts on the 40-man roster, Contreras will compete for a bullpen spot this spring. He’s out of minor league options, so he’d have to make the Opening Day roster or else be yet again jettisoned from a 40-man roster by way of DFA/waiver placement or perhaps a small trade.

Rays Acquire Brandon Eisert

By | at

The Rays have acquired left-hander Brandon Eisert from the Blue Jays, according to announcements from both clubs. The Jays, who designated Eisert for assignment earlier this week when they signed Anthony Santander, receive cash considerations in return. The Rays had an open 40-man spot and don’t need to make a corresponding move.

Eisert, 27, joins the second club of his career. Selected by the Blue Jays in the 18th-round of the 2019 draft, he worked his way up to make his major league debut last year. To this point, his big league track record is minimal. He tossed 6 2/3 innings for the Jays last year, allowing three earned runs.

The Rays are surely more interested in the southpaw’s minor league numbers, which have generally been strong. Over the past four years, he has logged 264 2/3 innings on the farm with a 3.76 earned run average, 29.1% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate.

Despite the strong minor league results, Eisert lacks the power arsenal clubs are usually looking to get from relievers these days. His fastball only averaged 91.2 miles per hour during his brief major league work. It was a tick lower in Triple-A, coming in at 90.2 mph last year. Perhaps the Jays expected that the relatively lower velocity would prevent him from succeeding in the majors as much as he did in the minors.

The Rays had an open roster spot and will use it to get a close-up look at Eisert. He still has options, which is surely appealing for a club that regularly rotates arms on and off its roster throughout the season. Garrett Cleavinger is the top lefty reliever on the club right now. They gave Mason Montgomery some work in the big league bullpen last year but he’s mostly been a starter in the minors. Eisert and Montgomery both have options, so it wouldn’t be a surprise for Tampa to have them taking turns on the big league roster as the second lefty behind Cleavinger, while shuttling to Triple-A from time to time.

Yankees Claim Allan Winans

By | at

The Yankees have claimed right-hander Allan Winans off waivers from the Braves, who designated him for assignment earlier in the week, as first reported by Chase Ford of MiLB Central.

The 29-year-old Winans saw big league time with the Braves in both 2023 and 2024. He’s been hit hard in the majors, yielding a 7.20 ERA in 40 frames, but has a strong track record in Triple-A. Through 256 innings at the top minor league level, Winans sports a 3.26 ERA, 21.8% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate. He has a minor league option remaining, making him a candidate to give the Yankees some depth in the starting staff or length out of the bullpen.

Winans sits just 90-91 mph with his four-seamer and 89-90 mph with his sinker, coupling those offerings with a low-80s changeup and upper-70s slider. He’s excelled at limiting walks and piling up weak contact throughout his time in Triple-A, which has helped to offset below-average velocity and bat-missing capabilities. Major league hitters haven’t made hard contact with much frequency, but the hard contact he does allow tends to be quite loud; he’s averaged 1.80 homers per nine frames and allowed 10% of his batted balls to be barreled up, per Statcast.

The Yankees have multiple open spots on their 40-man roster, so they won’t necessarily need to make a corresponding move to accommodate Winans. He’ll compete for a spot on the Opening Day roster this spring, but with a crowded rotation that could lead to a trade of Marcus Stroman and a generally veteran bullpen, the Yankees seem likelier to open the year with Winans in Triple-A — assuming he remains on the 40-man roster for the rest of the offseason.

Cubs Sign Jon Berti

By | at

The Cubs are in agreement with infielder Jon Berti, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. It’s a one-year, $2MM guarantee that includes another $1.3MM in performance bonuses, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Berti is a client of Ball Players Agency.

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said last week that the front office was looking to upgrade the bench. A multi-positional infielder seemed the likeliest target. Chicago has already added Carson Kelly as a backup catcher and has a strong outfield. Their infield was much less settled after they included Isaac Paredes in the Kyle Tucker trade.

Berti, who turns 35 today, is a sensible depth pickup. He’s a good athlete who has ample experience at each of second base, third base and shortstop. He has decent defensive grades at all three spots. Berti topped 100 games for the Marlins in both the 2022 and ’23 seasons. He combined for a .268/.334/.373 batting line with solid strikeout and walk rates. While he has minimal power, he’s an excellent runner. Berti stole 41 bases in 46 attempts back in 2022 and continues to grade highly for his overall baserunning acumen.

The Yankees acquired the righty-hitting infielder from Miami just before last season got underway. Berti would have had an opportunity to push DJ LeMahieu for the third base job had he stayed healthy. That wasn’t to be, as he landed on the injured list with respective groin and calf problems early in the year. The latter — a significant strain of his left calf — shelved him between May and September. Berti was limited to 25 regular season appearances and played four times during New York’s run to the AL pennant. He hit .273 with one extra-base knock (a homer) in 74 plate appearances.

Berti finished the season just shy of six years of big league service. New York could’ve kept him for his final year of arbitration eligibility. They opted not to tender him a contract, which MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected around $3.8MM. He falls shy of that number as a free agent but secures a guaranteed deal and an MLB roster spot. As a player with over five years of service time, he can’t be sent to the minors without his consent. He’ll be on Chicago’s big league team.

It will likely be in a bench role. Dansby Swanson is locked in at shortstop. Nico Hoerner will play second base once he’s healthy. Hoerner is rehabbing from flexor surgery and might start the season on the injured list. That’d leave Berti as the favorite to handle the keystone. Prospect Matt Shaw is expected to get everyday run at third base. He’s coming off a monster year in the upper minors (.284/.379/.488 with 21 homers between Double-A and Triple-A). Shaw has significant offensive upside, but plenty of top prospects have struggled in their first look at major league pitching.

Berti offers insurance for Hoerner’s injury and adds a high-floor fallback at third base if Shaw doesn’t hit the ground running. The acquisition is likely to push at least one of Vidal Bruján or Gage Workman off the roster. Workman is a Rule 5 pick, while Bruján is a former top prospect whom the Cubs acquired from Miami last month. Bruján is out of options and cannot be sent down without clearing waivers. It’s highly unlikely that the Cubs carry each of Berti, Bruján and Workman on the Opening Day roster, especially if Hoerner is healthy.

Berti’s modest base salary pushes the Cubs’ luxury tax number to roughly $200MM, as calculated by RosterResource. They’re still more than $40MM below the tax line and should have ample space for another acquisition. Hoyer has called the bullpen a priority and they’ve been tied to a number of high-leverage relievers on the trade and free agent fronts.

Image courtesy of Imagn.

Cubs, Reese McGuire Agree To Minor League Deal

By | at

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.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top