The minor league seasons are over, and the Chicago Cubs have brought up another couple arms to help with their now-burgeoning bullpen depth: Neil Ramirez and Yoervis Medina.
Ramirez, 26, returns to a 3.12 ERA, a 4.30 FIP, and a 4.82 xFIP over 8.2 innings with the big league team in a season marred by injuries (shoulder, abdominal). He’d been rehabbing at AA Tennessee. Although the 2015 season hasn’t been what anyone was hoping for after Ramirez broke out in 2014, perhaps some additional rest will help bring him back along, either now or after the offseason.
Medina, 27, has similarly had a rough 2015 season after a couple successful campaigns with the Mariners. Medina has posted a 7.00/4.37/4.54 ERA/FIP/xFIP in 9.0 up-and-down innings with the Cubs after he was acquired earlier in the year for Welington Castillo (who was subsequently traded to the Diamondbacks, with whom he’s thrived). At AAA Iowa, Medina sported a 6.29 ERA over 34.1 innings featuring tons of strikeouts (35) and tons of walks (21).
It’s unlikely that either pitcher will emerge as an impact arm down the stretch, though each has obviously shown that ability in the past.