The Milwaukee Brewers just signed catcher Jorge Alfaro to a minor league deal with an invite to major league spring training. Alfaro’s 31 now and has been in the majors off and on for eight seasons, but lately, his career’s been all over the place. The Chicago Cubs released him in 2024 during spring training, and he didn’t play in the majors that year, which complicated his future in baseball.

Throughout his career, Alfaro’s always been famous for his power potential. He has hit 48 home runs and posted a .253/.302/.393 batting line in 1,710 plate appearances over 496 major league games. Those numbers aren’t bad, but his plate discipline has been a problem. He walked just 4.2% of the time and struck out 34%, both of which are way worse than the league averages. His on-base and slugging percentages haven’t been anything to write home about either, leading to a wRC+ of 86.

Defensively, Alfaro’s reputation is kind of all over the place. He’s been decent as a framer and has gotten some good reviews for his ability to handle the running game, but his blocking skills, well, they’ve left a lot to be desired. Statcast has rated his framing and blocking pretty poorly, though his defensive work with the running game stands out a bit.

Alfaro’s offensive potential has always been his strongest point, but he has struggled with consistency at the plate, which has kept him in limbo. His defensive numbers fall below average for a catcher, making it harder for him to stick in the majors despite his raw power.

The Brewers, though, are known for their player development, especially with catchers. They’ve got a record of helping catchers improve their defense, which could help Alfaro as he looks to make a name for himself in Milwaukee. Right now, the Brewers have three catchers on their 40-man roster, William Contreras, who’s pretty locked in as the starter, Eric Haase, who adds some depth, and top prospect Jeferson Quero, who’s not quite ready for the majors yet.

Alfaro played winter ball this offseason with Tigres del Licey in the Dominican Republic, and he looked pretty good, hitting .303/.361/.455 over 12 games. His winter performance could give him a shot at competing for a roster spot this spring. Unfortunately, Jorge Alfaro has no other options. He’s in a position where he can improve himself this spring if he wants to make the Brewers' major league roster for 2025.