Former Phillie star player reportedly signs with Cubs
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.
Alfaro will play for the Cubs, his sixth Major League team overall and his fifth since December 2021. Alfaro has played for six different teams since leaving the Phillies in the February 2019 J.T. Realmuto trade; these teams do not include Chicago: the Miami Marlins (during two stints), San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox (during 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.
Simply said, Alfaro will need to hit if he wants to push his way onto the MLB roster at any point. In his most recent season, he hit.146/.212/.292 with the Rockies and Red Sox, with an OPS at Triple-A just a hair under.800 and one home run in 48 at-bats. Alfaro’s reputation is a little bit all over the place when it comes to defense. While his arm is his main asset, MLB Trade Rumors notes that since 2018, Baseball Savant has ranked him last among all catchers in Blocks Above Average (with Realmuto leading the pack).
It will take time to see if Alfaro can settle into a routine in Chicago and provide consistent MLB value, as he did in a.262/.324/.407 season spanning 108 games with the 2018 Phillies.