Is Kris Medlen a potential buy-low option for the Chicago Cubs?

Ahead of Tuesday night’s non-tender deadline, the Atlanta Braves elected to not offer a contract to right-hander Kris Medlen, who has seen time as both a member of the starting rotation and the relief corps during his big league career. With several turnaround projects already in the books in Chicago, the Chicago Cubs’ front office may emerge as front-runners for the 29-year-old in the weeks to come.

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Medlen emerged as one of the game’s best mixed-use pitchers two years ago when he posted a 10-1 record to go along with a minuscule 1.57 earned run average across 138 innings. The right-hander made 50 appearances, including a dozen starts – even finishing with votes in the National League MVP race, finishing a distant 20th in balloting.

In the past two days, reports indicated that Medlen and Atlanta were discussing a two-year deal, despite the fact he is coming off his second Tommy John surgery, which cost him the entire 2014 season.

Despite non-tendering Medlen, according to Bowman, the team is seeking deals with both Beachy and their former dominant right-hander, but both will no-doubt draw high levels of interest around the league, despite their injury struggles. In his big league career, Medlen has just 512 2/3 innings of work on his arm, and in hopes of re-establishing his value, he may look to sign on with a team on a buy-low, team-friendly deal in 2015.

His last big league season, 2013, saw Medlen convert to a full-time starting pitcher, posting a 13-12 record across 31 starts spanning 197 innings. During that stretch, the right-hander posted a 3.11 ERA and 1.223 WHIP, while averaging 3.34 strikeouts to every walk he issued. As mentioned, the Braves community appears optimistic of a deal working out between the two sides, despite Tuesday’s move, but don’t count out teams like the Cubs.

Chicago pitching coach Chris Bosio has helped several arms figure things out during his tenure with the Cubs, including Scott Feldman, Jason Hammel, Paul Maholm and now-ace Jake Arrieta – and with several more projects, including Jacob Turner and Felix Doubront, in the fold already, it would hardly be a surprise to see Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein bring someone like Medlen onboard on a team-friendly two-year deal. Should he turn things around and prove to be healthy, he could serve as a quality arm or another trade chip for the front office as the team emerges from its rebuild.

Medlen was once-considered to be one of the up-and-coming premier arms in all of baseball. Could he re-establish that reputation as a member of the Cubs?

It’s definitely in the realm of possibility.