Chicago Cubs: Welington Castillo trade with Mariners good for both

Trade will help both the Cubs and M’s

The Chicago Cubs finally made some room in the catcher’s meetings by dealing

to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for RHP

. It truly is a win for both teams, as the Cubs need as many arms as they can get in the bullpen, and the M’s needed help as starter

is batting .179 so far this season.

In Medina, the Cubs get a hard thrower with good numbers in his short time in the bigs. In 141 appearances with Seattle, he’s posted a 2.82 ERA In 137 innings he’s struck out 140 batters, holding opponents to a .216 average. He’s also held left-handed hitters to a .198 average. The only concern is he’s walked 75 hitters.

In his 2013 rookie season, Medina had a 2.91 ERA with 19 holds. So far this season he’s 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA. He’ll be sent to Triple-A Iowa to start, but it may not be long before we see him in Chicago.

Castillo wasn’t seeing consistent at-bats, and with the struggles of Zunino, he may even have the chance to become the M’s starter if things work out. After batting .274 in 2013, his offense dropped off last season as he hit only .237. The defense was improved, but that wasn’t enough for the Cubs to believe he was “the guy”, as they went out and signed Miguel Montero and David Ross.

The three catcher situation rarely if all hampered the Cubs until recent weeks with injuries and roster moves. Playing with a short bench and only backstops on it was a bit much. The move wasn’t unexpected, and will help the Cubs move forward in a more strategical way with the players they’ll have on the bench. Could Javier Baez make his return to Chicago soon? Not likely to be now, but he may not be far off.

Castillo handled the “demotion” with class and did everything that was asked of him. The opportunity in Seattle will be there for him that wasn’t in Chicago. We wish “Beef” the best, and hope Medina can help to solidify this bullpen in the near future.

Next: Is it all coming together for Baez?