Cubs Reportedly Sign Free Agent Catcher Josh Phegley to Minor League Deal
By Mark Powell
Despite having one of the best catching tandems in all of baseball with Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini, the Cubs are practicing strength in numbers.
In a depth signing, Chicago has added former Oakland Athletics catcher Josh Phegley, who had spent the last four years in the Bay Area.
Cubs signed catcher Josh Phegley to minor league contract
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) January 17, 2020
Phegley slashed .239/.282/.411 last season in Oakland, but didn't receive much playing time once the A's called up prospect Sean Murphy. Suddenly, Phegley was expendable, so he's taking his talents somewhere he hopes he's needed.
In all likelihood, Phegley will serve as a minor league catcher and an option should one of Contreras or Caratini hit the injured list.
The #Cubs have catcher Josh Phegley to a minor-league contract, source confirms. Looks like @MDGonzales wast first to report.
— Matthew Aung (@MatthewS_Aung) January 17, 2020
Offseason news has been hard to come by for Cubs fans, as they've yet to make an impact signing. Instead, the Ricketts family is content with their lack of spending, even stating that it's rather unlikely they'll extend their young core of Javy Baez, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo.
Don't expect the addition of Phegley to quiet the outcries from Cubs faithful.