Former Phillies catcher Jorge Alfaro has agreed to a minor-league deal with the Chicago Cubs, according to a Wednesday report from FanSided‘s Robert Murray.
The Cubs will be Alfaro’s sixth Major League organization and his fifth since December 2021. Since departing the Phillies in the J.T. Realmuto trade of February 2019, Alfaro has spent six stints with four different teams, not including Chicago: the Miami Marlins (two stints), San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox (two stints) and Colorado Rockies.
He has an invite to Spring Training, Murray reports, but is on the outside looking in with regard to the Cubs’ Opening Day roster. Yan Gomes and Miguel Amaya will be the presumptive favorites to make the 26-man squad, with Alfaro likely starting in Triple-A Iowa.
To force his way onto the MLB roster at any point, Alfaro, put simply, will have to hit. He slashed .146/.212/.292 with the Rockies and Red Sox in the most recent season, with one homer in 48 at bats and a Triple-A OPS a couple ticks under .800. Defensively, Alfaro’s reputation is a bit all over the place: He’s known largely for his arm, but Baseball Savant has him last among all catchers in Blocks Above Average since 2018 (with Realmuto first), as MLB Trade Rumors points out.
Time will tell whether Alfaro can find his groove in Chicago and contribute regularly at the MLB level, like he did in a .262/.324/.407 season over 108 games with the 2018 Phillies.
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