The Cubs traded two minor league players for Diamondback catcher Miguel Montero. Class A pitchers Zack Godley and Jeferson Mejia go to Arizona in the deal.
Godley is a 24-year-old righty who has yet to move past the High-A level in Chicago’s system. Working at Daytona last year, he put up a 3.57 ERA in 40 1/3 frames with 11.6 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9.
Mejia, 20, reached Rookie ball last year after being inked by the Cubs on July 2 of 2013. As Ben Badler of Baseball America wrote, the 6’7 prospect had been adding weight and fastball velocity at the time of his signing. He ultimately went for a $850K bonus. Mejia features a low-90s heater with a good change and decent curve. Meija was the 17th ranked Cubs prospect. Working mostly as a reliever, he threw to a 2.48 ERA with 10.1 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 in 40 innings last year.
Montero, a left-handed hitter, has three years and $40 million left on his deal. The 31-year-old has had two down years after establishing himself as one of the best-hitting backstops in the game. Last year, he slashed .243/.329/.370 with 13 home runs in 560 plate appearances. There have been prior reports that Montero is not a good clubhouse guy.
It makes little sense for the Cubs to make this trade. Welington Castillo had a decent year behind the plate. In fact, his numbers are nearly the same as Montero's: Castillo posted two straight above-average years of offensive production before stepping back slightly in 2014. He slashed .237/.296/.389 last year, with a career-best 13 home runs in 417 plate appearances. So Castillo was generally improving while Montero has been regressing badly.
Over the past two seasons, Montero has accumulated only 1.2 WAR while at the same time, Castillo has accumulated 6.3 WAR.
In addition, Castillo, 27, is under team control for another three years. He was going to make only $2.1 million in 2015, much less than Montero.
If the Cubs really wanted to "upgrade" their catching position, the trade for Dioner Navarro would have made more sense. Navarro is out of a starting job because the Jays signed Russell Martin. Navarro had a heady 2014: .274 BA, 12 HR, 69 RBI, 2.3 WAR.
After the deal, Jeff Passon of Yahoo Sports reports that the Cubs will be actively shopping Castillo. Again, that also makes no sense since a) the Cubs have no other catcher on the major league roster; b) prospect Kyle Schwarber is still two years away; and c) if Montero is a bust, the team has no Plan B. But the Cubs seem to be content with no Plan Bs.
Why catching so suddenly the burr under the front office saddle is a mystery, considering the greater weaknesses in left field, center field, and starting pitching.
Godley is a 24-year-old righty who has yet to move past the High-A level in Chicago’s system. Working at Daytona last year, he put up a 3.57 ERA in 40 1/3 frames with 11.6 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9.
Mejia, 20, reached Rookie ball last year after being inked by the Cubs on July 2 of 2013. As Ben Badler of Baseball America wrote, the 6’7 prospect had been adding weight and fastball velocity at the time of his signing. He ultimately went for a $850K bonus. Mejia features a low-90s heater with a good change and decent curve. Meija was the 17th ranked Cubs prospect. Working mostly as a reliever, he threw to a 2.48 ERA with 10.1 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 in 40 innings last year.
Montero, a left-handed hitter, has three years and $40 million left on his deal. The 31-year-old has had two down years after establishing himself as one of the best-hitting backstops in the game. Last year, he slashed .243/.329/.370 with 13 home runs in 560 plate appearances. There have been prior reports that Montero is not a good clubhouse guy.
It makes little sense for the Cubs to make this trade. Welington Castillo had a decent year behind the plate. In fact, his numbers are nearly the same as Montero's: Castillo posted two straight above-average years of offensive production before stepping back slightly in 2014. He slashed .237/.296/.389 last year, with a career-best 13 home runs in 417 plate appearances. So Castillo was generally improving while Montero has been regressing badly.
Over the past two seasons, Montero has accumulated only 1.2 WAR while at the same time, Castillo has accumulated 6.3 WAR.
In addition, Castillo, 27, is under team control for another three years. He was going to make only $2.1 million in 2015, much less than Montero.
If the Cubs really wanted to "upgrade" their catching position, the trade for Dioner Navarro would have made more sense. Navarro is out of a starting job because the Jays signed Russell Martin. Navarro had a heady 2014: .274 BA, 12 HR, 69 RBI, 2.3 WAR.
After the deal, Jeff Passon of Yahoo Sports reports that the Cubs will be actively shopping Castillo. Again, that also makes no sense since a) the Cubs have no other catcher on the major league roster; b) prospect Kyle Schwarber is still two years away; and c) if Montero is a bust, the team has no Plan B. But the Cubs seem to be content with no Plan Bs.
Why catching so suddenly the burr under the front office saddle is a mystery, considering the greater weaknesses in left field, center field, and starting pitching.
