Today was the deadline to tender contracts to all arbitration-eligible players.
The Cubs had just four such players for 2026: Justin Steele, Javier Assad, Eli Morgan and Reese McGuire.
Three of those players
will be offered 2026 contracts. One will not:
Reese McGuire came along at exactly the right time for the 2025 Cubs. He had been let go from a minor-league deal in late May, but came back to the organization a couple of days later when he couldn’t find another gig. Two days later he was in a big-league Cubs uniform after Miguel Amaya suffered an oblique injury.
McGuire made the most of that, hitting two home runs in his Cubs debut [VIDEO].
McGuire played in 44 games for the Cubs, batting .226/.245/.444 with nine home runs, and threw out 25.8 percent of runners trying to steal. He did a perfectly fine job as a backup catcher, but the Cubs didn’t want to — and shouldn’t have wanted to — pay him an arbitration salary.
With Amaya back in 2026 and Carson Kelly under contract, there’s no room for McGuire on the active roster. If he doesn’t get another gig I certainly wouldn’t mind having him back as the “break glass in case of emergency” catcher.
Eli Morgan, who was also on the bubble to be non-tendered, will apparently be given a 2026 contract. He’s projected to get $1.1 million in arbitration (number from MLB Trade Rumors). Player and team will negotiate between now and Jan. 8, when clubs and players are required to exchange salary figures if no deal has been arrived at by then.
With this move, the Cubs’ 40-man roster stands at 31 players.
There’s one other non-tender move I wanted to note here today:
The Cubs really missed Mike Tauchman during 2025, in my opinion. He is a useful backup outfielder who puts together good at-bats, draws walks and has a good OBP (.356 in 2025) and is a good clubhouse guy. They should look into bringing Tauchman back.
That’s it for various transactions this week, and as we head into a holiday next week, transactions are likely to be slow until after Thanksgiving. Have a great weekend!
