Mariners trade Yoervis Medina to Cubs for catcher Welington Castillo

The Mariners bolstered their catcher situation with the acquisition of Welington Castillo, but they did so at a price.

BY SHANNON DRAYER

May 19, 2015, 9:09 AM Updated: 11:15 am

In Welington Castillo, the M's get a catcher with big-league experience to back up Mike Zunino. (AP)

(AP)

BALTIMORE – In a bit of a surprise move, the Mariners have traded reliever Yoervis Medina to the Cubs for catcher Welington Castillo. A corresponding move on the 25-man roster will be made when Castillo reports to the team.

Castillo, 28, was hitting just .163 in limited action this year. He was the primary catcher the previous two seasons and hit .255/.323/.393/.716, but he became expendable when the Cubs acquired Miguel Montero and Robbie Ross in the offseason.

The Mariners give up a live arm and dependable piece of the bullpen with Medina – who pitched in 66 games last year and put up a 2.68 ERA – to pick up a catcher with good big-league experience.

The addition of Castillo gives the Mariners insurance at catcher. Before the trade, there was no big-league depth behind Mike Zunino. If anything happened to him, the Mariners would be looking at putting Jesus Sucre or John Hicks behind the plate every day until a move could be made, and that move may not have been very desirable as not much was available this offseason.

What remains to be seen is how much Castillo will play. The Mariners value Zunino’s defense and handling of the pitching staff but at some point the bat has to come around. There is a commitment to work through this at the big-league level, and perhaps now with a backup who has more experience, manager Lloyd McClendon will have the opportunity to get Zunino more days off when he hits particularly rough patches. The chance to get a breather, focus just on his hitting and not have to worry about that day’s pitching could do him some good.

We should learn more about this move when we get to the park this afternoon.