Reese

McGuire

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.

The Cubs continue to get excellent production out of the catcher position this year. McGuire, who is the backup to Carson Kelly, had three hits, a home run and drove in four runs against the White Sox Friday. While McGuire would need an injury to Kelly to even have the opportunity to provide legitimate fantasy value, it was a good effort nonetheless.

Kelly will get the day off with Paul Skenes on the mound for the Pirates. Reese McGuire will handle catching duties and hit ninth.

Kelly will miss his third straight game on Tuesday night due to illness. It’ll be Reese McGuire handling the catching duties in his absence. There figures to be an update on his status at some point ahead of Wednesday’s series finale at Wrigley Field.