Reese

McGuire

McGuire officially joins the White Sox a day after he opted out of his minor-league contract with the Brewers. The 31-year-old will be a backup backstop for Chicago, but there’s a good chance he’s booted from the roster when Kyle Teel returns from injury.

McGuire opted out of his minor league contract Saturday, and he’ll find an MLB oppportunity a day or so later. The 31-year-old will likely be the backup to Edgar Quero while Kyle Teel (hamstring) gets healthy.

McGuire exercised the opt-out in his minor league contract with the club after failing to make the season-opening roster. The 31-year-old backstop was in camp on a minor league deal as a non-roster invitee. He should be able to land on his feet somewhere else, but will likely have to settle for another minor league pact.

The Brewers had been eyeing McGuire as a backup for William Contreras, and he may still win that job, but the team has not committed an MLB contract to him as of yet. The 30-year-old hit .226/.245/.444 in 140 plate appearances for the Cubs last season but continued to post positive framing grades behind the plate, which we know the Brewers value.

That makes sense. The Brewers only need a cheap backup with William Contreras in house and Jeferson Quero hopefully ready to step in if disaster strikes, and McGuire is a plus defender, if nothing else. He hit .226/.245/.444 in 140 plate appearances for the Cubs last season, and his EV numbers did not back up the surprising power spike.

McGuire wound up with just a .245 OBP for the Cubs last season, but he hit nine homers in 140 plate appearances and played quality defense behind the plate while filling in for Miguel Amaya. The Cubs weren’t going to keep him around as an out-of-options third catcher, but he might be able to land a backup gig somewhere. That said, if any team was especially interested, it could have sent the Cubs a minor prospect for him before he hit free agency.

McGuire’s 389-foot shot to right-center would have been a homer in just five ballparks, but it proved sufficient in Wrigley. It’s his second career grand slam, and it gave him his third career five-RBI game. He’ll still likely return to the bench in favor of Carson Kelly on Sunday.

Amaya was carted off after stepping awkwardly on first base tonight. The Cubs kept Reese McGuire on the roster after activating Amaya on Tuesday, so he’ll be Carson Kelly’s backup. The Cubs could call up Nicky Lopez for a utility role or maybe summon Moisés Ballesteros if they’re OK with him playing a minor role.

Amaya, returning from an oblique strain, went 6-for-27 with no extra-base hits in nine games for Triple-A Iowa. Although he was very good before getting hurt, batting .280/.313/.505 in 27 games, he’ll likely see less time than Carson Kelly behind the plate for the Cubs. The team is also keeping Reese McGuire; he’d certainly be claimed on waivers if the team tried to demote him, and the Cubs want to keep him in case Amaya or Kelly goes down.

Amaya is now 5-for-16 in five games at Triple-A and should be nearing a return to the Cubs. However, neither Reese McGuire nor Carson Kelly has minor league options left, so McGuire would need to be designated for assignment to make room for Amaya.