Cubs sign former Mets catcher, designate struggling veteran for assignment

The 30-year-old Nido inked a two-year, $3.7M contract before 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 because 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 a high-end defensive backstop who draws plus grades for his framing and pitch-blocking, coupling those skills with a career 21 percent 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 the 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 percent of his plate appearances with the 2022-23 Cubs and entered 2024 with a career 23.1 percent mark in the majors, but he’s whiffed a massive 36 times this season (37.5 percent).

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 percent) — well shy of his excellent 32 percent 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, $13M pact in the 2021-22 offseason. Gomes’ performance last year made it a straightforward call for the team to exercise a $6M club option (a net $5M decision, given the option’s $1M 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’ $6M 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.