Cubs part ways with an infamous player

The Chicago Cubs have officially dropped a notorious name.

Chicago announced on Friday that they have non-tendered catcher Reese McGuire, making him a free agent. They are also non-tendering pitcher Eli Morgan while instead tendering contracts for 2026 to arbitration-eligible pitchers Javier Assad and Justin Steele.

Friday marked Major League Baseball’s official non-tender deadline. As such, teams around the majors had to make a decision about all of their players still under team control — whom they wanted to tender contracts to and whom they wanted to cut loose to hit free agency.

McGuire, 30, was only with the Cubs for the 2025 season. He also had a very limited role in Chicago, hitting .226 with nine home runs and 24 RBIs through 44 appearances as a defense-first backup catcher.

Of course, McGuire is also an infamous figure in baseball circles for his past legal issues. Most notoriously, McGuire was arrested in 2020 for masturbating in a public parking lot in Dunedin, Fla. (full details here).

McGuire has since been taunted by opponents on the field over that embarrassing episode. Now the eight-year MLB veteran (who has also played for the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago White Sox, and Boston Red Sox in his career) will be looking for a new team this offseason.