Cubs sign catcher Miguel Useche

Photo courtesy: University of New Orleans

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 21 hours ago

Although it may not be the news many fans were hoping for, the Cubs once again made a mid-season deal on Wednesday, and once again it came in the Minor League ranks. With a lack of healthy catchers in the lower-level Minor Leagues, the Cubs dipped into the Independent ranks to find a catcher and have signed Tri-City Valleycats catcher Miguel Useche to a minor league deal.

The signing happened late last week, but it became official earlier this week when he was given his destination, as he will be heading to South Bend to begin his full-season career. The 24-year-old catcher played his college ball for the University of New Orleans and went undrafted in 2024 following a strong campaign.

As a senior, Useche delivered an impressive slash line of .349/.461/.545. He did that while connecting for five homers, 45 RBIs, and more walks (42) than strikeouts (32). For his career, Useche managed to hit .314 for New Orleans, adding 14 homers, 115 RBIs, and a 94-to-100 walk-to-strikeout ratio.

After going undrafted, Useche wasn't ready to call it quits just yet and wound up latching on with the Valleycats of the Frontier League this season. For the 2025 season, Useche hasn't seen the playing time he was hoping for, but in the 14 games he has played, he has done a great job of producing, hitting .333 with no home runs and seven RBIs.

As you can see, power won't be the strong part of his game, but Useche has proven to have terrific bat-to-ball skills, regardless of his surroundings, and also has an excellent feel for the strike zone, which is essential at any level. He was also ranked the 39th best catching prospect in his entire 2024 draft class, and that alone makes it a puzzling mystery as to why he went undrafted.

Seeing the Cubs sign an Indy Ball player certainly won't move the needle for the fan base, but it is something Jed Hoyer has done frequently over the past two seasons, making four Indy Ball signings last year and this being the second one this season. Unlike last season, when Hoyer found value in Independent League pitchers, he is now focusing more on the catching depth, as he knows they need more depth in the Lower Level Minor leagues.

With Useche now in the Cubs' system, it will be interesting to see how the Cubs handle him, as playing time will be the biggest hurdle to overcome. As things stand, Miguel Pabon and Ariel Armas are the other catchers on the South Bend roster, but you could make the case that Useche is the most complete catcher of that group.

That goes without saying, considering he has yet to appear in a single minor league game, but his numbers in college and the Independent Level can't be ignored. Expect to see him starting games by the end of this week and making anywhere between 2 and 3 starts a week as South Bend tries to determine the best option for their lead catcher.