Cubs sign former Red Sox catcher Jorge Alfaro |
Hey, the Chicago Cubs finally made a signing, and although it was not a significant signing, it was a signing nonetheless. While the rest of the MLB landscape continues to recover from the Shohei Otani move and contemplate where to go next, hundreds of players are still available for the taking in an effort to improve an organization.
Most of those players would love to contribute at the MLB level, but you do have players willing to take any deal as long as it can provide them with an opportunity to join an organization to try and make something happen. That is precisely the case with Catcher Jorge Alfaro, as he and the Cubs have agreed on a minor league contract for the 2024 season with an invite to spring training. This is by far not the most intriguing signing, but with Yan Gomes and Miguel Amaya slated to begin the season in Chicago, the Cubs needed to add some minor-league depth at the catcher position, especially in AAA Iowa. Alfaro gives them that depth as he also has plenty of MLB experience in case an injury were to happen to Gomes or Amaya, and the Cubs need another catcher on their roster. As we have seen in the past, this deal comes with an opt-out clause, and that would be implemented if Alfaro wasn't added to the MLB roster by the end of May. That is a similar deal to what Luis Torrens had last season, but the Cubs chose to add him to their MLB roster before releasing him a month after the season started. The long-time veteran has been in the big leagues for part of the past eight seasons, and at age 30, he is starting to get to the end of his career in terms of playing days. Sure, there may be several minor league options out there should he want to keep going, but his MLB contributions may be coming to an end, as is the case for many backup catchers once they hit age 30. Alfaro was most recently with the Boston Red Sox, but has spent time with the Philadelphia Phillies, Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies. Throughout those eight seasons, Alfaro has held his own as a player, playing 496 games and hitting .253. He also has 48 homers and 198 RBIs, showing some power in that bat. His best overall season came in 2019 when he was the primary catcher for the Marlins. Coming off a 2018 campaign where he hit .262 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs with the Phillies, Alfaro played in a career-high 130 games with the Marlins, where he hit .262 for the second straight season. What stood out the most that year was his sudden increase in power, as he had nearly half his homers (18) that season while also driving in 57. Since then, he has hit 19 homers while driving in 85, as the overall production has steadily declined over the past few seasons. Last season was especially rough as he played 36 games across three teams, hitting .183 with no homers and nine RBIs. Here's to hoping for a bounce-back year in the Cubs system, as this was once one of the better backup catchers in the entire game. Although not the best hitter in the world, one aspect of his game you can't ignore is the defensive side of things. Alfaro is a guy who does everything behind the plate well enough to be a reasonable backup on a lot of teams. That includes his pitch calling behind the plate, as he has always had a great relationship with his pitchers. He didn’t hit at all in the big leagues last year, though, and there may have been some caution about counting on him on a big league deal. So, not finding one, Alfaro takes a minor-league contract with the Cubs. Knowing what he did with the Marlins in 2019 and the Phillies in 2018, there is hope he can rediscover his offensive stroke with Iowa this season. Should that happen, he gives the Cubs a great depth piece to have ready in case he needs to be implemented on the big League Roster.
