The Cubs announced on Thursday that they have designated right-hander Yoervis Medina for assignment. Medina’s roster spot will go to infielder Brendan Ryan, who has now officially been acquired as the player to be named later in last week’s Starlin Castro/Adam Warren trade.
Chicago acquired the now 27-year-old Medina from the Mariners in a May trade that sent Welington Castillo to Seattle. Medina had enjoyed strong results in Seattle from 2013-14, pitching to a combined 2.81 ERA with 9.4 K/9, 4.9 BB/9 and a 53.5 percent ground-ball rate before taking a significant step backwards in 2015. This season, Medina logged a 4.71 ERA with an unsightly 16-to-11 K/BB ratio in 21 innings for the Mariners and Cubs. Notably, his fastball velocity, which had averaged 94.8 mph in 2014, sat a full two miles per hour lower at 92.8 in 2015, and his ground-ball rate dipped to 36.8 percent.
Medina’s struggles weren’t confined to the Major Leagues, either. He also recorded 40 innings of Triple-A work between the two teams but limped to a 5.62 ERA with 8.8 K/9 against 5.0 BB/9. Those numbers, clearly, represent a significant departure from his best work at the upper levels of the minors and in the Majors. If there’s no health issue at play — though his diminished velocity certainly stands out as cause for concern — another club may look at him as a low-risk option with four years of club control remaining and hope that he can rediscover the form he displayed in 2013-14. ERA estimators like FIP, xFIP and SIERA were never sold on Medina as a sub-3.00 ERA arm, but all felt that he could hold down a mark somewhere in the mid-3.00 range given his blend of missed bats and grounders.
What I’d personally like to see is them trying to take chances with
former Cy guys Tim Lincecum and Cliff Lee.
See if Bosio can bring some life back into these guys.
I think that Tim could be the biggest steal of the year if
his hip surgery brings some velocity back to his fastball.
And also maybe take a chance on a guy like A.J. Griffin
who has always pitched decently at any level through out his career.
No way Lincecum is coming to Chicago, he’s from the northwest, makes his off season home there, has more than enough financial security and knows the Giants are competitive year in and year out,. If the Giants aren’t interested in a reunion, he’ll be with Seattle.
You can think that way all you want but sad to see a guy who can’t see the reverse side of things. Okay you have a couple of points that might keep him in the area but what if because he has enough financial security he wants to try something else or decides that he might try a change of scenery. Also he’s going to hold a showcase to clubs in January to show that he’s healthy. Meaning that he’s open to hearing from other clubs. Are you saying that he’s going to turn down millions just to stay in an area he likes? Please don’t reply to me when you don’t know what’s going on.
the Cubs are playing to win now. Unless lincecum or lee want to sign minor league deals then the Cubs have nothing for either.
We needed to trade Welington but we should have received more than this Medina bum.
Cubs put themselves in a corner when they traded for Montero and signed Ross. They had no leverage in the deal and every team knew it. At that point its just about finding a good landing spot for a player you developed. They are still people.
One of the few mistakes that this Cubs front office has made.
Very true Wellington we knew everybody but the Cubs FO knew this was his year and would have been playton with Miggy but DAvid Ross proved to be good for Lester but that time has past no one gets a pass with a .181 Batting Average when Schwaber need to learn the position (Catcher) while Wilson Cartravis will be here in July so Miggy Montereo will be shipped in July but we won’t be sellers we just can get a excellent RHRP back like McGee from the Rays
What did you expect for a backup/fringe starting catcher who is entering his age 29 season in 2016. Seattle didn’t think much of him either and sent him to Arizona after playing only 6 games for the Mariners and hitting .160 in that 1 week. He’s a .240ish hitter with an OBP of .300. That’s about what you can expect from him. Sure he’ll add 15+ HRs, but these aren’t offensive numbers teams are yearning for. He’s also a mediocre/slightly below average fielding catcher. That fielding part is what caused him to lose his job in Chicago and why the Cubs traded for Montero in the first place. He’s pretty much a backup catcher on most teams. In Arizona he’s their starter….. but that’s Arizona. I honestly think D-back fans are going to be in for a rude awakening with Greinke and Miller….. especially Miller. Greinke was a 3.50 ERA pitcher before going to pitcher friendly Dodger Stadium. Miller has pitched in pitcher friendly parks his whole career in Busch and Turner Field…… which is likely why his ERA for his career is so low at 3.22ish while having a pretty high FIP of 3.80+…… that’s a VERY high FIP for a pitcher advertised as “top of the rotation” quality. Chase Field is a hitter’s park and no stranger to the long ball. Throw all these facts in on top of Castillo not being a good defensive catcher or good at framing pitches and I bet those 2 pitchers have “surprisingly” down years in Arizona. Surprising to the media and most clueless fans…. not surprising to anyone who follows the game and looks at stats beyond 1-2 years and in more depth than just his ERA. For a catcher who has ranked consistently as on of the worst defensive catchers in the game (at least when he was on the Cubs…… so pretty much his entire career) he’s got to hit better than .240 and get on base more than 30% of the time. He has hit .251 and got on base at a .316 clip for his career, which sadly (read, pathetically) is pretty decent for a catcher, but that is largely inflated by his one well above average offensive output in 2013 when he hit .274 and had a .349 OBP. The last 2 seasons he has been kind of eerily consistent, hitting .237 in both 2014 and 2015, and having a .296 OBP in each of the last 2 years. So I’d say he is almost a lock for .237/.296 for 2016 if the current trend keeps up. Bottom line though, Castillo is no better than his predecessor, Geovany Soto…… and he’s actually worse than Soto. Soto had similar power, but as a cub hit .252 with a SOLID .342 OBP and a .787 OPS. Castillo has been nowhere near those numbers. And yet Soto has been relegated to backup catcher duties since leaving Chicago…… I expect Castillo to follow the same career path here in a year or 2.
If you think this was nothing for Castillo, the Cubs only got Jake Brigham for Soto…… way worse of a return IMO for a better catcher. Brigham is still in the minors but only played in the Cubs system the 1 year. He’s now with the Braves and pitching mediocrely down there. Yoervis Medina is no prize either but at least he has 146 MLB IP under his belt to Brigham’s 16.
Medina was/is a solid reliever. I just looked at his stats and his 2013 and 2014 numbers with the Mariners are solid in a full time relief gig. In those two seasons he has a 2.81 ERA in 129 games, and 125 IP, with a 9.4 K/9IP rate. He was pitching well for the Mariners before the trade, but since coming to the Cubs he’s been stashed in the minors because, and like I try to tell people who think otherwise, the Cubs bullpen is stacked and loaded with talent already. Medina despite 2, some might say, stellar seasons in the Mariners bullpen and a good start to 2015 couldn’t find his way to a full-time gig in the Cubs bullpen. He only made 5 appearances and pitched 9 innings for the Cubs in which, yes, he did struggle. Hard to make an analysis on a player though based off only 9 innings while ignoring the other 135 IP he has on his record.
The way I look at it he was just the low man on the totem pole. If Castillo was still here he’d be the one getting let go. No harm no foul, and DEFINITELY not one of the worst moves Theo has done as someone here has suggested. Castillo for Medina is just a run of the mill personnel shift. If this was a bad move by Theo than it must have been catastrophic for the Mariners. They gave up a reliever who in 137 IP for them across 2+ seasons had a 2.82 ERA, and for what…… a below average catcher who was on the team for 6 games. Then the Mariners traded Castillo and 3 other no-name players for Mark Trumbo and some dude named Vidal Nuno. So it’s just a bunch of crap switching hands among baseball execs really. Trumbo is the biggest name in all this but is only a big name because he happened to hit 30+ HRs a couple times….. his other numbers for his career are just as bad if not worse than Castillo’s though. So honestly, in terms of QUALITY and success in the past…….. of Medina, Trumbo, and Castillo…….. Medina I’d say has a case for the most success, if not a close second behind Trumbo.
I’m bummed because they could have played “Funky Cold Medina” as he stolled to the mound…
Medina is a useful back-end bullpen piece. A team like the A’s or Brewers could grab him for cheap. Or whoever gets Yoenis Cespedes could sign Yoervis to create confusing clubhouse hijinks.