Tomás Nido quickly settled into his new clubhouse Wednesday morning, his sparse locker stall fitted with fresh Chicago Cubs gear, his mitt, shoes and catcher’s mask.
Only 13 hours earlier, that same stall had belonged to Yan Gomes, who was behind the plate in the ninth inning of the Cubs’ 5-2 victory Tuesday night against the San Francisco Giants. This sport can be cruel sometimes, and when a team striving to make the playoffs is getting underperforming production at a position, difficult and potentially unpopular clubhouse moves might need to be made.
The Cubs signed Nido and designated Gomes for assignment before Wednesday’s series finale — a 6-5 win— ending the veteran catcher’s tenure with the organization after 2½ years. Manager Craig Counsell called it a tough decision because of how Gomes is a great teammate and important person the clubhouse.
“But in the end we just felt like we had to make an attempt at trying to get more production out of the catching spot,” Counsell said. “We’re just trying to get upgraded and give us more chances to win. It’s the whole player for sure matters, the defensive part of it matters. (Nido’s) an excellent receiver, and that’s important.”
Despite his struggles, Gomes remained a well-respected, valuable leader in the clubhouse and with the pitching staff.
“It’s just another reminder of how the the front offices will always do what they believe is best to win,” second baseman Nico Hoerner said. “And sometimes it’s someone you like as an individual and sometimes it’s a friend of yours and it’s just part of it. … It also provides a perspective on how fast this game does go by and the gratitude for being here and making the most of it.”
No catcher has caught left-hander Justin Steele more in his big-league career than Gomes. When paired up, Steele had a 2.53 ERA, the lowest of any of the eight catchers who have caught him. Steele gushed about Gomes’ impact on him personally and professionally.
“Obviously it just sucks,” Steele told the Tribune. “It’s the nature of the beast of what we do in baseball. It’s a business and I know he’ll land on his feet. It’s just the resilient personality he has. … He wasn’t just in the locker room connecting with you, he was going the extra mile to make sure everyone knew that he cared about you.
“The nicest thing I feel like you could say about somebody is when I’m out there pitching and he was back there catching I knew the guy behind the plate cared about me and not just as a player, but as a person.”
Gomes’ decline featured a jarring drop-off from one of the best offensive seasons in his career in 2023 in which he hit .267 with a .315 on-base percentage and 95 OPS+. His 20 doubles and 10 home runs were his most since his 2018 All-Star season, while his 63 RBIs were tied for sixth-most among MLB catchers. In 33 games this season, Gomes, who turns 37 next month, posted a .154/.179/.242 slash line and 18 OPS+ with two walks and 36 strikeouts in 96 plate appearances.
“I don’t know if shocking would be the right word, I mean, that’s what happened and we have to evaluate that,” Counsell said of Gomes’ drop-off. “Obviously the level that it changed was significant, and so we felt we had to try to make a move.”
The balance of playing time between Amaya and Nido is up in the air as the latter gets up to speed on the pitching staff. Nido spent his entire career in the New York Mets organization including parts of eight big-league seasons. The Mets released him Monday. Nido hit .229 and had a .261 on-base percentage and 81 OPS+ in 32 games this season.
Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said the key to onboarding Nido will be to avoid overloading him with too much information.
“He’s been around some good staffs, he knows how to handle pitchers so he’s already asking the right questions and looking for the right information,” Hottovy said. “We also give him the bullets to be able to go out there and be successful.”
Beyond the offensive inconsistencies from their catchers this season — the Cubs ranked 28th in OPS and offensive WAR at the position — Gomes and Amaya have struggled to keep opposing teams’ running games in check, with Gomes’ defensive metrics, arm strength and framing notably declining since last year as Amaya had taken over the bulk of playing time. Amaya’s pitch framing is among the best in the league, however, and combined with his game calling, Counsell believes he’s in a really good place.
Teams had run wild on Gomes and Amaya, which Counsell points to some accuracy issues with the young catcher.
“Throwing has been has been a struggle a little bit, and I think that’s a team thing, pitchers and Miguel contribute to that and that’s certainly an area of improvement,” Counsell said. “He can make (his accuracy) better. When you have the opportunity to throw a guy out, accuracy gives you that opportunity.
“But he will get better offensively, and I think there’s a good offensive player in there and sometimes you’ve got to go through this to get there.”
The Cubs signed Gomes to a two-year, $13 million contract before the 2022 season and in November picked up his $6 million club option for 2024. His major-league career has spanned 13 years with five organizations, and he won a World Series ring with the Nationals in 2019.
“Just the longevity to play to the age that he’s at in today’s game, I just can’t emphasize that enough like it’s so hard to make it into your mid-30s now at any position much less doing it behind the plate and the amount of games that he played last year down the stretch and not only his stat line but the moments that he produced in last year,” Hoerner said. “He really was at the heart of a lot of things that we did.”
