The Unhappiest Camper at Brewers Spring Training is Still a Positive Presence

Last season, Reese McGuire saved the Chicago Cubs from what felt like onrushing disaster. In a game in Cincinnati in late May, Miguel Amaya suffered an oblique strain that would sideline him for almost three months, leaving the team completely dependent on co-starter Carson Kelly. McGuire had been stashed at Triple-A Iowa, whence he was rushed to the banks of the Ohio River to fill in for Amaya. He responded with two homers in his first game with Chicago, and stuck around for the balance of the season.

McGuire, who turns 31 on Monday, went on to hit nine home runs in 44 games and 140 plate appearances for the Cubs, and was excellent at throwing out runners trying to advance on errant pitches or steal bases. His pitch framing graded well, too. The Cubs non-tendered him in November, which was to be expected. After that, though, McGuire expected to field at least a couple of big-league offers from other teams.

None came. With spring training looming (and knowing that any catcher hoping to make a team needs to be in camp as early as possible), McGuire agreed to a minor-league deal with Milwaukee on Jan. 28. At least, he figured, he would have a decent chance to claim the backup role to William Contreras, with the optionable and inexperienced Jeferson Quero as the only obstacle in his path.

Two weeks later, Milwaukee signed veteran catcher Gary Sánchez to a big-league deal. McGuire is now in camp with a team that has two roster-locked big-leaguers at catcher and a top prospect who will be the top priority at Triple-A Nashville. It's not a great spot to be in, for a guy who felt that he took such a step forward last year. You could forgive McGuire for feeling pretty put out about it all, and he admitted to feeling upset—but his attitude about the circumstance in which he finds himself could hardly be better.

"I was absolutely hoping, you know, for a guaranteed deal, and I felt like, coming off one of my better years at the plate and being on a successful, winning team with the Cubs and producing when the moments mattered, I was actually pretty shocked that I didn't have a guarantee," he said. "It's upsetting, you know, you work hard and—but at the same time, you've gotta be able to just turn the page, and just realize that it's a 162-game season and things happen, and just be ready for that opportunity like I was last year."

Admittedly, even McGuire's ostensible breakout—his nine home runs were a career high, and the only time he's posted an OPS+ higher than last year's 94 was in 2019, when he had even fewer plate appearances and played only 30 games—was not a tour de force at the plate. He did generate good power, but he walked a platry 2.9% of the time and had an appalling .245 on-base percentage. Still, he did what was asked of him, and more, and if the league had taken a bit more note of his defensive improvements, he might have gotten that guaranteed deal. As it is, teams rarely pay for the defensive chops of backup catchers, even though that's the trait for which they select players to fill that role. Guys like McGuire thus end up in a (forgive the pun) Catch-22.

"When you're on that catching train and you're the backup catcher—you're in that realm—whether you're in Double A and you're destined to do that or whether you're [used to starting], it's a survival position," manager Pat Murphy philosophized. "Whatever breaking balls are thrown at you, you spit at them and you say, 'Hey, I'm still here.' You don't bite for that, you know? I think that's where [McGuire]'s at. He sees a real possibility here, and we're happy to have him."

So far, he's not only had to find time between starts by Contreras and Sánchez, but sometimes had to be the guy who comes in along with the shock troops from the minor-league side in the sixth or seventh inning of Cactus League contests. With Contreras departing to play for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic, McGuire will get more meaningful looks in games over the next fortnight, but he knows that his real opportunity in Milwaukee depends on an injury, so he's trying to focus on locking in the improvements he made as a thrower and a receiver last year. When the subject is the craft of catching itself, he's animated by a passion that will be good for the organization even if it's relegated to working with Quero in Nashville.

"Last year was kind of the second full year of the right-knee-down method that we've seen across the league," McGuire said, referring to the newly prevailing catcher stance league-wide, "so last year, I was definitely more confident in starting in that position, but also modifying it and being able to pop up quicker and get my right knee off the ground and be able to use it."

McGuire learned not to be "stagnant" on the ground, even in a stance designed for the stability that engenders optimal pitch-framing. He felt that better timing of his weight-shift in preparation for a throw, especially on steal attempts, led to better throws.

"But also, you do have to just credit the pitching staff as well, for being quicker to the plate," he added. "The Cubs were very in tune with runners and times to the plate, and there was some opportunity for me to be up on two feet, instead of having a right knee down. When I'm up on two feet, I definitely feel at my best, so there were times where that was the case.

"And then, up the middle, honestly, Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner are two of the best taggers in the game, so when I would just put it anywhere near second base, they would pick it up off the ground, at times, and help me out a lot."

Although he deeply appreciated his time in Chicago, McGuire also watched with admiration when they played the Brewers. That helped him decide between the minor-league offers he got in January, and it goes beyond the tagging skills of Brice Turang and Joey Ortiz.

"Being in this clubhouse around these guys, it's a great group. It's a hungry group," he said. "It's very much my style of baseball, very grind-it-out, one-run games, move a guy over, get him in. Sometimes it's not flashy, but at the end of the game you look up and you're like, 'Man, they beat the crap out of us.'"

Nor is he missing the opportunity to work with Charlie Greene, Nestor Corredor and a deservingly vaunted Brewers catching instruction group.

"Yeah, we've been working on a ton of defensive stuff, receiving," McGuire said. "Every day, I feel like I'm getting better at something. I mentioned that when I first came here: It's fun to think that I've been in the game for over 13 professional years now, and I'm still learning, still finding ways to increase, whatever it is. It's been a great camp so far."

Make no mistake: this isn't the circumstance McGuire wants to be in. However, he's learned not to let that make him ungrateful for the place he's in, or the chances that still lie ahead of him. It's a long season, and although no Brewers fan is likely to find themselves rooting for McGuire to make the roster (which would mean an injury having befallen at least one of Contreras, Sánchez and Quero), if he does end up being part of the club, he's well-positioned to contribute.