Just a day after I wrote that the Brewers had invited two catchers in particular to spring training, they added another catcher to that group.
Veteran catcher Reese McGuire, who spent last season with the Cubs, has agreed to a minor league deal with Milwaukee with an invitation to major league spring training, according to Curt Hogg.
McGuire, 31 in March, was a first-round pick by the Pirates in 2013. He played in parts of eight MLB seasons with four different teams, including the Blue Jays, White Sox, Red Sox and Cubs. His best season came back in 2019, when he played in 30 games for Toronto and totaled 1.0 bWAR, hitting .299/.346/.526 with five home runs and 11 RBIs.
He appeared in 44 with Chicago in 2025, serving as Carson Kelly’s primary backup. He hit .226/.245/.444 with nine home runs, 24 RBIs and 17 runs scored. He is also considered an above-average catcher in the areas of framing, blocking and his throwing arm, catching eight of 31 potential stealers in 2025 (25.9%) and having a career caught stealing rate of 27.1%.
While William Contreras is the clear starter behind the plate for Milwaukee, McGuire will compete with Jeferson Quero and a few other minor leaguers for the backup job this spring. If the coaching staff believes that Quero needs some more time to develop, it is not inconceivable that McGuire will break camp with the Major League team at the end of March.
McGuire is also out of minor league options, so if he enters the season on the Brewers’ MLB roster, the team won’t be able to select him when Quero is ready.
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