Reese McGuire filled in admirably for the injured Miguel Amaya, hitting a career-high nine home runs over 140 plate appearances as Carson Kelly‘s backup. That wasn’t nearly enough to entice the Cubs to tender him a contract at anything approaching his $1.9 million projection, so they told him to beat it. Or, more accurately, they simply chose not to tender him a contract for the 2026 season.
The No. 14 overall pick by the Pirates in 2013 out of Kentwood High School, McGuire progressed to Double-A in Pittsburgh’s system before being traded to the Blue Jays.