Alfaro, who turns 31 in June, was told last week that he wouldn’t be included on the team’s Opening Day roster while he was in camp with the team on a minor league contract.
Alfaro had the option to opt out of his minor league contract with Chicago as an Article XX(B) free agency in the event that he was not assigned to the 40-man roster. Though it’s unclear if he ever formally used that option, he will now be free to pursue opportunities elsewhere, possibly with a clearer route to big league playing time.
Alfaro, who was once regarded as one of the sport’s top-50 prospects, was involved in several big deals when he was younger. He signed with the Rangers as an international free agent at first, and at the 2015 trade deadline, the team handed Philadelphia a prospect package in exchange for Cole Hamels.
The next season, he made his major league debut with the Phillies, where he went on to score a scorching.270/.327/.422 in 143 games over three seasons before once more being included in a blockbuster exchange. This time, during the 2018–19 offseason, Alfaro was sent to Miami as part of the return of All Star catcher J.T. Realmuto.
Alfaro’s first season with the Marlins went quite well, as he slashed a solid .had 18 home runs in 465 at-bats, a slash line of 262/.312/.425. But Alfaro’s behind-the-plate defense was lacking, and during the course of the following two seasons, he would start to suffer offensively as well.
After hitting just.240/.282/.343 in 123 games with the Marlins between the 2020 and 2021 seasons, he finished 31% below the league average hitter during that same period. Because of his struggles at the plate, in addition to his glove struggles.