The Cubs have signed catcher Joe Hudson to a minor league deal with an invitation to major league Spring Training, per Eric Treuden of Jays Journal.
Hudson, 33 in May, has 18 games of major league experience to this point in his career. Those games were scattered between the 2018 Angels, 2019 Cardinals and 2020 Mariners. He hit a combined .167/.219/.200 in a small sample of 33 plate appearances, though he’s generally been considered strong on defense.
His offense has been better in the minors, including a batting line of .230/.330/.398 across five different seasons at the Triple-A level. That includes a 2023 stint with the Braves on a minor league deal, wherein he got into 69 Triple-A contests. He struck out in 29% of his trips to the plate this year but also drew walks in 16.2% of them, leading to a slash of .232/.371/.395 for the year and a 99 wRC+.
The Cubs are a bit thin at the catcher position, with Yan Gomes and Miguel Amaya the only two currently on the 40-man roster. Amaya has just 53 games of major league experience while Gomes is going into his age-36 season. Hudson and Jorge Alfaro, who also signed a minor league deal with the Cubs this offseason, will provide the team with some experienced non-roster depth.
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