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Cubs Sign Tomas Nido, Designate Yan Gomes For Assignment

By Steve Adams | June 19, 2024 at 10:20am CDT

10:20am: The Cubs have made the moves official.

9:55am: The Cubs are making a change behind the plate, signing veteran catcher Tomas Nido to a big league contract and designating Yan Gomes for assignment, as first reported by Bleacher Nation’s Michael Cerami . Nido, an ACES client, was released by the Mets on Monday after being designated for assignment last week. The Mets are on the hook for the majority of this year’s $2.1MM salary. The Cubs will only owe Nido the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster.

The 30-year-old Nido inked a two-year, $3.7MM contract prior to the 2023 season, buying out his final two seasons of arbitration eligibility. He was outrighted off the 40-man roster last season following a dismal .125/.153/.125 start through 61 plate appearances but chose to accept a Triple-A assignment due to the fact that electing free agency would’ve required him to forfeit the remainder of the guaranteed money on his contract.

Nido was selected back to the big leagues this season when Francisco Alvarez hit the injured list with a thumb injury that required surgery. During his most recent stint with the Mets, Nido surpassed five years of MLB service time, which allowed him to reject his latest outright assignment in favor of free agency while still retaining the remainder of his salary. He batted .229/.261/.361 through 90 plate appearances with the Mets this season.

That level of production is par for the course for Nido, a career .214/.251/.313 hitter in 895 trips to the plate at the big league level. Offense has never been the focal point of Nido’s game, however. He’s an high-end defensive backstop who draws plus grades for his framing and pitch-blocking, coupling those skills with a career 21% caught-stealing rate that’s right in line with this year’s league average.

Even Nido’s lackluster 2024 output at the plate or his similarly uninspiring career batting line would be an upgrade over what the 36-year-old Gomes has mustered this season. Gomes was near league-average at the plate just last season (.267/.315/.408, 10 homers, 95 wRC+) but has cratered with a career-worst .157/.179/.242 batting line in 96 plate appearances this season. Gomes fanned in just 18% of his plate appearances with the 2022-23 Cubs and entered 2024 with a career 23.1% mark in the majors, but he’s whiffed a massive 36 times this season (37.5%).

Like Nido, Gomes has a strong defensive reputation, but the numbers don’t bear that out this year. He’s thwarted just three of the 24 runners who’ve attempted to steal against him (12.5%) — well shy of his excellent 32% career mark. The Brazilian-born backstop’s once-premium framing numbers are below-average for a second straight season, meanwhile, and Statcast also pegs him below-average at blocking pitches in the dirt in 2024.

As is the case with Nido, Gomes is playing out the final season of a guaranteed contract. Chicago signed him to a two-year, $13MM pact in the 2021-22 offseason. Gomes’ performance last year made it a straightforward call for the team to exercise a $6MM club option (a net $5MM decision, given the option’s $1MM buyout). Even Gomes’ detractors couldn’t have reasonably predicted a decline of this magnitude, however. Gomes’ struggles are a major reason that Chicago backstops have been the third-worst in all of baseball at the plate, leading only the White Sox and Marlins in that regard.

The Cubs will still be on the hook for the remainder of Gomes’ $6MM salary once he inevitably becomes a free agent. (No team is going to trade for or claim what’s left on the contract). Once he’s released, Gomes will be free to sign with any club. A new team would only owe him the league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster. That sum would be subtracted from what the Cubs owe him through season’s end.

81 Comments

5 months ago

Yan can catch, but Yan can’t hit. Don’t know if Yan Can Cook, but Yan might be cooked.

You want to see a catcher who can’t hit? Check out the Rays Alex Jackson. He’s hitting .074. That’s up from .049.

worst hitter I can remember. I recall Kelly Shoppach driving Rays’ fans crazy…we’d roll out the red carpet for that type of hitting today.

Kelly Shoppach. That’s a name you don’t hear every day

The catching merry-go-round. Gomes will probably be signed by another club not getting anything out of their catchers (or due to a sudden injury), hoping a change will give him a fresh start. I haven’t read anywhere that scouts see he suddenly aged, etc.

Alex Jackson makes Jeff Mathis look like Johnny Bench.

Chicago has cornered the market this season on catchers who can’t hit. Yon Gomes is departing with his career-worst .157/.179/.242 triple slash line. Miguel Amaya remains with the Cubs with his anemic .188/.250/.268 batting line.

On the southside of town, veteran Martin Maldonado possesses a historically bad .083/.139/.130 triple slash with the historically awful White Sox.

He’ll always be John Gomez to me

Apparantly, Yan can’t catch very well anymore, either.

With 60 or 63 currently in MLB. How can the Cubs have #58 and 59? WSox have #60. Jeb make a move

His bat was not Yans knives. great comment!!

Good for Tomas

Crazy that a catcher hitting .229/.261/.361/79 wRC+ is a massive upgrade. Says a lot bout the struggles behind the dish for the Cubs.

Certainly been a black hole for the Cubs—even worse, they have been bad back there defensively. Especially Amaya.

Rays missed out here. Had to be either Rays or Cubs snatching up this golden opportunity…wish it had been the Rays, but happy the Cubs still care.

More wasted money.

Number one—not your money, quit worrying about it. It’s is budgeted for and they have it. Number two—you would have been the first one here blasting the Cubs if they had not signed Gomes back after the season he had last year. Please take your emotion out of every move the Cubs make.

Can hardly wait until tomorrow morning after the Cubs eighth starter hits the mound today. Again, not someone that could have been not signed back after last season.

Please understand—-just because something doesn’t work out, doesn’t mean it was wrong.

The Cubs didn’t resign Gomes last offseason. They signed him to a two-year contract the year before.

The problem was that Gomes almost never has back-to-back good seasons and is in his mid-30s. The Cubs should’ve found a better option than signing Gomes to a multi-year deal. Although, admittedly, there were barely any good catching options on that offseason’s free agent market after the Cardinals snatched away their incumbent, Willson Contrares, early on.

Well for one I was all for Gomes coming back. Still am so get your freakin facts straight. The waste of money comes from signing an idiot who is worse than the one you’re replacing. If the Cubs signed a C that actually mattered I’d be fine with it. To whiz away another 6 million to take a firm step backwards is just stupid and anybody who agrees with it are just sheep. So Bah Bah to all of you who really have no clue. If you think this guy is better than Gomes then you need glasses.

Oh goody. Hendricks

To whiz away another 6 million to take a firm step backwards ==================== Just curious-where did you get $6M from? Isn’t it more like $500k?

Gomes is making 6 million and was earning it until this year. He’s still a solid receiver. Bringing in a new C for slight upgrade with the bat is it worth it? We’ll see what happens with the P’s who are carrying the team right now.

I found the problem.

If you’d actually read the article, you’d know that he’s not “still a solid receiver.”

He’s a bad receiver, an absolutely awful hitter, a poor thrower, etc. He is among the worst catchers in MLB. The reason I know that is because I read the article.

They signed him to a 2 year contract in 2022, which worked out pretty well. He was a backup to Contreas his first year and last year he hit pretty well, leading the Cubs to pick up his 3rd year option, which did not work out well.

They have to pay Gomes either way. They’re not spending much more in new money to bring in a replacement. That’s the sunk cost fallacy. They might as well pay that $6M to Gomes while using a better player in his spot.

Meanwhile, Gomes absolutely sucks now on both offense and defense! His is not by any means a solid receiver anymore! The guy replacing him is not just a slight offense upgrade but also a BIG defensive upgrade.

Ah, my mistake, they did sign him three years ago, initially to be the backup. However, he should’ve stayed as the backup instead of being promoted to starter when Contreras left (and shouldn’t have been making $6M a year).

Frankly, the Cubs were lucky that he hit as well as he did last year..

“Ah, my mistake, they did sign him three years ago,”

You were right, they signed him to a 2-year $13M contract with a club option for 2024, which they picked up @ $6M

They were fortunate that he hit well last year, but that also balances out but the “unlucky” performances.

“Oh goody. Hendricks”

Whoooops… that only took a couple hours to look stupid.

So far it’s 16 million dollars a win. Who’s stupid? Thought so.

“Who’s stupid?”

Based on the replies on this page, that would be you.

As I have suggested to you in the past, best to say nothing and allow people to assume you’re an idiot, than you open your mouth and remove all doubt.

At least give Lincoln the credit for having said that, not you.

Good grif idiot box, you and your girl friend unclemike are probably the only people that would think I was trying to take credit for coining that phrase.

Just keep your lip zipped.

When you quote someone, especially when they’re far more intelligent and original then you, and you don’t credit them for that quote, you are most definitely wanting everyone to think you came up with it. Your effort at denial is as thin as your skin.

Now go chew somebody else’s ankle, clown boy.

You’re just not very bright. Buckle up…

Yah. Lol it’s wrong….. how can you say it’s not???? Your gm made a mistake it was wrong….

It’s a pretty simple concept, you should be embarrassed for not comprehending it.

Uncle Mike please stop commenting on cubs posts. It would be nice not to see your pessimist take once in awhile

Nido will be paid the minimum. So we are talking about $430k here if he lasts the entire rest of the season.

The bet on Gomes being at least competent this year in a 65 start backup role was a reasonable one compared to what else was on the market.

The bigger question is what do they do with Amaya? His defense is awful, his offense is awful, and I have questions about his pitch calling. I’d rather have Tim Hosely back there and Tim is nearly 80 years old.

Cubs willing to add any catcher or reliever that another team drops at this point.. Jose Lopez, Nido, that catcher from yesterday, Tyson Miller..

Probably not a good thing when they are picking up pieces the Mets didn’t want.

You do realize the Mets have been one of the better teams in baseball since May 30th right? Are you also aware this was their third best catcher behind Omar Narvaez and Francisco Alvarez?

Navarez was awful, and still doesn’t have a job, so not sure what you’re talking about.

And what does a teams performance since May 30th have to do with anything when it comes to a backup catcher?

Nothing, but the name we are looking for here is Luis Torrens.

LOL! Oh! Since May 30th! Let’s call the season now, the past 18 days is such an indicator of success compared to the previous 10 weeks!

Don’t know if I’m surprised or not that Nido got a job before Narvaez

How on earth can you be surprised? Narvaez was worse that horrible this year. Between the passed balls and the catcher’s interference calls, his defense was beyond atrocious, and he was a liability every single minute that he was on the field. And Nido outhit Narvaez this year. Nido also has another year before free agency, so the Cubs will have the option to tender him a contract and keep him if they want. Not the case with Narvaez.

Geofft I’m not sure what point you were trying to make – he was trying to say Nido is the better catcher

tozer That’s not how I read/understood it. Maybe my read was wrong, but my take was that he was uncertain as to which one might be signed first.

Great Guy! I wish him all the luck except against the Mets.

Tan was starting to hit but it was too little too late. Hope this move works out.

He’ll do well as a backup with the Cubs.

Cubs just keep adding below mediocre players to replace below mediocre players, great strategy-where’s this farm system everyone keeps bragging about?

The Cubs miss Willson.

Willson: Hidey-ho, rivals.

Rick Wrona isn’t available?

Rays release Jackson then sign Yan?

Glad Tomas found a MLB job. Good person. Capable catcher.

Word on the street in Lincoln park Chicago is that Jody Davis and Damen Berryhill are coming out of retirement to play for the cubs. Yes you heard that right baseball fans. This should secure at least a fourth place finish this year. Still smh over paying for the manager that they signed

Damon Berryhill. Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in forever.

He had big time potential as a Cather. They also had Joe Girardi behind the plate as well. At this point bring them out of retirement it couldn’t hurt

Maybe the MLB can make a second DH to replace the catchers.

Hoyer…Yea you Jed Hoyer..This I’d your big up grade. Once again you have done nothing to help this roster. I don’t knowing if it’s Ricketts controlling you or your inability to put a roster together. But both of you need to go.

Its gonna happen.

I could see Gomes to the Rays or Phillies

The clock struck midnight for Gomes. Too bad because up until this year he’d had a pretty solid career at the plate. It may be just me, but it seems lately there are more and more players whose stats don’t gradually trend downward. They just fall off a cliff and don’t even hit any branches on the way to rock bottom. It’s like they wake up one day and the magic is gone.

But is this guy going to hit any better? If the Mets released him with money owed, he can’t be that good.

Hopefully Gas Money signs somewhere. Not including this year he had a solid 2 years with the Cubs.

This is funny, right? Mets dump Nido cause they have finally seen enough of him, and Cubs sign him as an antidote to catching woes. Gomes was a very good player. Major cog in Nats’ 2019 World Series title. If he still has something in the tank, I hope he catches on somewhere. If he’s done, well, he earned over $50M, and if he still wants to play, the Mexican League is calling.

That’s an unfair assessment. It’s not they didn’t “finally see enough of him.” The Mets picked up Torrens from the Yankees for cash and he’s been riding a hot streak. At the same time, Alvarez came back and the young catcher continues to hit. There’s no good way to keep three catchers on the 40-man roster, so one had to go.

I’m sad to see Nido leave the organization and I think he’s still got plenty of respectable baseball in him.

Yeah, Torrens is two years younger than Nido, has good tools on both sides of the plate, with a lot more offensive upside than Nido. He also costs less and comes with two more years of club control as opposed to one for Nido. Plus the Mets also have two catchers in AAA with major league experience.

As a Padre fan I only see Gomes when he plays the Padres and it seems like he always homers against them and gets on base. Must not do that so much against everyone else.

If Yan could get creative, he would just try to play on 3 or 4 game contracts against whatever team was playing the Padres and he’d have an all star year.

Thank you, Yan, for all your efforts and being a great teammate.

I’d have rather seen them give Pablo Aliendo a shot

Thats fanspeak, not sensible baseball talking. It pains me to see suggestions like this. Players who can successfully make the jump from AA to the majors are sooo exceedingly rare, much more than fans realize. Its even harder for a catcher, who has so much more on his plate than other position players. And you’re talking about a catcher who’s thrown out only 11% on steal attempts this year. Just look how many players – good players – come up from AAA only to have to be sent back own three or four times over two seasons before they stick as a regular. If you call up this kid from AA, you run the risk of running out of options on him before he is ready to stick in the majors. At the very least, you know that Nido calls a good game, pitchers like throwing to him, and he plays solid defense. Has Aliendo ever even handled a major league sweeper or any of the other new pitches that are suddenly being thrown over the past year? Are they even throwing those pitches in AA yet with any regularity? And would he know when to call for them?

The Cubbies have really been stinking it up the last month or so, and their relief pitching staff, with a few exceptions, has been terrible. Granted, they’ve also been hit with one injury after another, but I honestly didn’t expect things to go this bad.

Craig is a great person I’ve met him multiple times but he’s not a good manager.. he had pitchers in Milwaukee he pulled them way to early look at burnes no hitter he will not let a pitcher go three times thru the lineup it burns the bullpen… plus he plays station to station he don’t like bunts and steals look at the brewers offense now when they bunt and steal… cubs will have a terrible offense with him in charge… the proof is there

I have faith CC will get the Cubs firing back on all cylinders. They played beyond horrible and the pen has been god awful but guys are starting to come around offensively.

My opinions are just that but I personally think riding Tauchman at lead off (and dh) was a huge mistake. Nico should be leading off from here on out and he should be adding pressure on pitchers when he gets on base. Let the guy run!! Morel needs to be moved off third. See if a switch to dh can get his bat to wake up some. Lastly, we need to ride Busch at first base as often as possible. I like PCA but he’s young and not hitting, option him and keep Bellinger at center. I don’t like platooning guys, especially young guys. You also have dudes like Happ who can’t seem to hit lefties but they beat up relievers that follow lefties to death.