Former Philadelphia Phillies Catcher Signs Deal With Milwaukee Brewers

One of the former Philadelphia Phillies catchers has now signed a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Aug 6, 2018; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher Jorge Alfaro against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

There are questions about what the Philadelphia Phillies are going to do with J.T. Realmuto not just throughout this season, but going forward since his contract is up at the conclusion of this campaign and the two sides have not discussed an extension.

There have been multiple hints suggesting the Phillies are going to reduce his workload during the year so he has more gas left in the tank during the latter parts of the season and into the playoffs.

If that's going to be an effective strategy, then they need a reliable backup.

Someone Philadelphia thought was going to be their star catcher was Jorge Alfaro, the former international free agent signing of the Texas Rangers who was acquired as part of the trade package that shipped Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman out of town in 2015.

The slugger peaked at No. 3 in the Phillies' pipeline two years later after he made his Major League debut in 2016 by getting into six games.

It wasn't until 2018 when Alfaro looked like he could become the future at the position.

He slashed .262/.324/.407 with 10 homers and 37 RBI across 108 games and 377 plate appearances for an OPS+ of 95, but there were some advanced metrics that really showcased his hitting ability and athleticism further.

Yet, when Philadelphia had the opportunity to land Realmuto ahead of the 2019 campaign, they moved Alfaro as part of the package to acquire the star catcher.

That turned out to be a good move for the Phillies.

Alfaro spent three years with the Miami Marlins before he was traded to the San Diego Padres. He enjoyed a solid season there in a backup role, but he was non-tendered and the journeyman stage of his career began.

He appeared in only 18 MLB games in 2023 and none last year, but he's looking to get things back on track after signing a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers per Robert Murray of FanSided.

It will be interesting to see what comes of this.

Alfaro inked this type of deal with the Chicago Cubs ahead of this past campaign, but when he was released in March, he didn't join another organization.