Jorge Alfaro

Jorge Mario Alfaro Buelvas (born June 11, 1993) is a Colombian professional baseball catcher in the Kansas City Royals organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, and Washington Nationals. Alfaro signed with the Texas Rangers as a free agent in 2010, was traded to the Phillies in 2015, and made his MLB debut in 2016. He plays on the Colombia national baseball team in international competition.

Early and personal life Alfaro was born in Sincelejo, Sucre, Colombia. His younger brother Jhoandro is a catcher who played in the Chicago White Sox organization. Alfaro played baseball and soccer at Instituto Técnico Industrial Antonio Prieto, graduating in 2009. In 2010, playing for the DSL Rangers in the Dominican Summer League he batted .221/.278/.291 with one home run and 23 runs batted in (RBIs).

In 2011, playing for the Low–A Spokane Indians in the Northwest League, Alfaro batted .300/.345/.481 (9th in the league) with six home runs, 23 RBIs, and seven hit by pitch (6th) in 160 at bats, as on defense he allowed 12 passed balls and made 10 errors in 36 games at catcher. Alfaro was ranked the 54th-best prospect by Baseball America. In 2013, playing for Hickory in the South Atlantic League, he was a mid-season All Star, an MiLB.com Texas Organization All Star, and an All-Star Futures Game selection.

In 2014 playing for the High–A Myrtle Beach Pelicans he was Carolina League Player of the Week on August 4, a mid-season All Star, an MiLB Texas Organization All Star, and a post-season All Star. In 2015 playing for Frisco he was a mid-season All Star, and batted .253/.314/.432 with five home runs and 21 RBIs in 190 at bats. In the remainder of 2015 he had four at bats with the GCL Phillies. Alfaro was optioned back to Reading the next day. He was recalled on September 11 after the Reading season ended; he had batted .285/.325/.458 in Reading with 15 home runs (6th in the league), 67 RBIs (9th) and 105 strikeouts (tied for 5th) in 404 at bats. He had a total of 16 major league at bats in 2016, in which he had two hits and eight strikeouts.

Alfaro entered 2017 ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 72 prospect, and the Phillies' No. 3 prospect. He had the highest batting average on balls in play of all major league hitters with 100 or more at bats, at .420, swung at the highest percentage of balls outside the strike zone of all NL batters, at 46.2%, and swung and missed at an MLB-leading 21.7% of the pitches he saw. With the Triple–A Lehigh Valley IronPigs of the International League, Alfaro was a mid-season All Star, and for the season he batted .241/.291/.358 with seven home runs and 43 RBIs in 324 at bats. He also had the second-fastest baserunning sprint speed of all major league catchers, at 28.3 feet/second. On the other hand, he struck out 36.6% of the time, the highest rate in the National League and third-highest among all players in MLB with 300 or more plate appearances. He swung and missed at an MLB-leading 23.8% of the pitches he saw (the next-highest rate was Avisail Garcia's 19.0%), and swung at the highest percentage of balls outside the strike zone of all NL batters, at 46.9% (while having the lowest contact percentage with pitches outside the strike zone of all NL batters, at 42.9%).

On defense, in 2018 he had the best arm strength (90.8) and the third-best average pop time to second base (1.94 seconds) of all major league catchers, while he ranked fourth among all catchers in pitch framing according to Baseball Prospectus. However, Alfaro also led all NL catchers in passed balls (10) and stolen bases allowed (59; though he tied for 3rd in runners caught stealing (21)), and tied for first in errors (11). Baseball America named him to its 2018 MLB All-Rookie Team.

In 2019, he batted .262/.312/.425 with a career-high 154 strikeouts in 431 at bats, and was 2nd in the NL with 11 passed balls, and 3rd with 11 errors. He had the fastest sprint speed of all major league catchers, at 28.8 feet/second.

In 2020 he batted .226/.280/.344, and at catcher was 2nd in the NL with 4 passed balls.

In 2021, he batted .244/.283/.342 in 92 games. At catcher, he led the National League with 13 passed balls, despite only playing 61 games at the position. After July he was moved to left field, where he played for the majority of August and September. From 2016 to 2021, Alfaro swung at a higher percentage of pitches than any other player in MLB, and had the third-worst contact rate when swinging at pitches, of all MLB batters with a minimum of 500 plate appearances.

San Diego Padres On November 30, 2021, the Marlins traded Alfaro to the San Diego Padres in exchange for cash or a player to be named later, which turned out to be cash considerations. In 2022, he played in 82 games for San Diego, hitting .246/.285/.383 with 7 home runs and 40 RBI. Additionally, Alfaro had four walk-off hits during the season. He swung at the highest percentage of balls outside the strike zone of all NL batters, at 49.2%, and has the highest swinging strike percentage of all NL batters, at 21.7%. On defense, he again led the NL in passed balls, this time with 7, in 65 games.

Boston Red Sox On January 26, 2023, Alfaro signed a minor-league contract with the Boston Red Sox and was named a non-roster invitee to spring training. Alfaro played in 43 games for the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox, hitting .320/.367/.520 with 6 home runs, 30 RBI, and 4 stolen bases. On June 1, Alfaro exercised the opt-out clause in his contract, giving the Red Sox 48 hours to add him to their 40-man roster or grant him his release. The Red Sox declined to add Alfaro to their roster, and he was formally released on June 3.

Colorado Rockies On June 10, 2023, Alfaro signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies organization. After three games with the Triple–A Albuquerque Isotopes, Alfaro was selected to the major league roster on June 15. In 10 games for Colorado (two at catcher), Alfaro hit just .161/.188/.387 with 1 home run and 4 RBI. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple–A Albuquerque on July 4.

Boston Red Sox (second stint) On July 6, 2023, after many injuries at the catching position, the Boston Red Sox brought back Alfaro on a major-league contract. In 8 games for Boston, he went 2–for–17 (.118) with 2 walks. Alfaro was designated for assignment by the team on August 1. He elected to become a free agent on August 5.

Miami Marlins (second stint) On August 15, 2023, Alfaro signed a minor league contract to return to the Miami Marlins organization. In 18 games for the Triple–A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, he batted .200/.274/.262 with no home runs and six RBI. Alfaro elected free agency following the season on November 6.

Chicago Cubs On December 13, 2023, Alfaro signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs On March 25, 2024, Alfaro was released by the Cubs.

Milwaukee Brewers On January 14, 2025, Alfaro signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. He spent his entire time in the Brewers organization with the Triple-A Nashville Sounds in the International League, where he batted .244 with 15 home runs, 49 RBI, 119 strikeouts (10th in the league) and a .715 OPS in 307 at-bats across 82 appearances. The Brewers released Alfaro on September 1, after he triggered the opt-out clause in his contract. He played his first game with the Nationals the following day, and in his first major league at-bat since July 2023, hit the first pitch he was thrown for an RBI double. In 14 appearances for Washington, Alfaro batted .256/.256/.308 with three RBI and one stolen base. On October 31, Alfaro was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to the minor leagues; he subsequently rejected the assignment and elected free agency.

Kansas City Royals On January 5, 2026, Alfaro signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals.

International career Alfaro played for the Colombia national baseball team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He also played for Colombia at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Alfaro was named to the Colombian roster for the 2026 World Baseball Classic qualifiers, held in March 2025 in Tucson, Arizona.