Connor Wong

McGuire augments Chicago's catching depth heading into spring training. The 29-year-old backstop lost his starting job last year in Boston to Connor Wong before being shipped to the minors by early August after the club acquired Danny Jansen. He's a decent early-season emergency depth option for the Cubs behind Miguel Amaya and Carson Kelly in case top prospect Moises Ballesteros isn't ready to ascend to the majors right away.

Wong had a solid season offensively for Boston in 2024, hitting .280 with 13 homers, 24 doubles, and a .758 OPS while cutting his strikeout rate down from 33.3 percent in 2023 to 23.4 percent in 2024. However, he also wore down as the season went on, posting just a .696 OPS in the second half, compared to a .809 OPS in the first half. Wong believes the added weight will help him "be a little more physical, a little more durable" while still moving "the same way I have in the past." He also worked with new Red Sox catching instructor Packer Guinn on "Receiving, blocking, the whole thing, really. We've changed some of the setup." Wong graded as a poor blocker and framer in 2024, so any meaningful improvement in his defense would be huge for Boston and Wong's playing time in 2025.