The Cubs have acquired catcher William Simoneit from the Phillies, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The backstop has been assigned to Double-A Tennessee for now. He wasn’t on Philadelphia’s 40-man roster and therefore won’t require a spot with the Cubs. The Phils receive cash considerations in return.
Simeonit, now 27, signed with the Athletics as an undrafted free agent in 2020. From 2021 to 2023, he got into 244 minor league games from High-A to Triple-A. He produced a combined batting line of .259/.359/.408 in that time, which led to a 108 wRC+.
The Phils nabbed him away from the A’s in the minor league phase of the 2023 Rule 5 draft. His results have fallen off since the organizational switch, as he’s hit .145/.286/.306 between Double-A and Triple-A this year, striking out in 39% of his trips to the plate. The Phillies recently lost some catching depth with J.T. Realmuto requiring knee surgery but still decided they would rather have the cash than Simoneit.
The Cubs have received very little from their catching position this year, something that manager Craig Counsell recently discussed. As of today, Miguel Amaya is hitting .185/.248/.267 on the season while Yan Gomes has a line of .154/.179/.242. Neither of those two can be optioned and the club doesn’t have another catcher on the 40-man.
Alí Sánchez is in the system as non-roster depth but Simoneit will now join him in that capacity. It’s obviously been rough going to start this year for Simoneit but perhaps he can get back to into his pre-2024 form.