Cubs part ways with Reese McGuire, Eli Morgan ahead of MLB tender deadline

The Cubs are parting ways with one of their surprise contributors from 2025.

The team is non-tendering catcher Reese McGuire, meaning he’ll become a free agent. They also are not tendering a contract to right-hander Eli Morgan. The Cubs tendered contracts to their other two arbitration-eligible players: right-hander Javier Assad and left-hander Justin Steele ahead of Friday’s tender deadline. The Cubs’ 40-man sits at 30 players after the move.

McGuire, 30, was headed into his final year of arbitration, where he was projected to make $1.9 million, per MLB TradeRumors. That’s a hefty price for a player who projected to be a fourth catcher on the Cubs’ 26-man roster.

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The team entered 2025 with a tandem of Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya expected to split time behind the plate. That duo was thriving before Amaya suffered an oblique injury in May that sidelined him for over two months.

McGuire, who was signed to a minor-league pact with an invitation to big league camp in spring training last winter as catching depth, performed admirably in Amaya’s stead. In his Cubs’ debut on May 25, he clubbed two home runs in an 11-8 win over the Cincinnati Reds. He finished with nine home runs in just 44 games (140 plate appearances), drove in 24 runs and had a .688 OPS.

When Amaya returned in mid-July, McGuire’s performances kept him on the roster as the Cubs carried three catchers. Amaya suffered a sprained ankle in his first game back that would end his season.

Amaya is not yet arbitration eligible and Kelly is entering the final year of a two-year, $11.5 million deal he signed ahead of last season. Throw in top prospect Moisés Ballesteros, who is naturally a catcher who figures to mix in the designated hitter role in 2026, and there wasn’t a real pathway for McGuire and his contract on the roster.

The Cubs will be in search this winter for backstop depth – every team is – but especially a catcher with major-league experience. That kind of player is so valuable for a demanding position, as the Cubs saw firsthand with McGuire. He started the year at Triple-A Iowa, opted out of his minor league deal, returned to Iowa and then was back in the majors after Amaya’s injury.

Morgan was acquired last winter from the Cleveland Guardians for outfield prospect Alfonsin Rosario. Morgan made the Cubs’ Opening Day bullpen, but struggled in seven games, allowing 10 earned runs (12.27 ERA). He landed on the IL with a right elbow impingement on April 15 and never returned to the big leagues. He was entering his second year of arbitration.

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