The Pirates have claimed right-hander Adonis Medina off waivers from the Phillies, according to an announcement from Philadelphia. This ends a months-long stay in DFA limbo for Medina, as he was designated for assignment on December 1st of last year when the Phillies signed Johan Camargo. Shortly after that, MLB instituted a lockout, keeping Medina’s status frozen until that lockout ended last week.
This will be just the second organization for Medina, who was signed by the Phillies as an international free agent back in 2014. As he climbed the minor league ranks, he cracked Baseball America’s list of the 100 prospects in baseball, coming in at #84 in 2018.
However, since that time, he’s mostly struggled with the competition in the upper levels of the minors and in the majors. In 2019, he made 21 starts in Double-A, along with one appearance in relief, throwing 105 2/3 innings of 4.94 ERA ball. He only struck out 17.5% of the batters he faced, well below average, but did get ground balls at an encouraging clip of 45.1%. In 2020, the pandemic wiped out the minor league seasons, though Medina was able to make his MLB debut, making one four-inning start. In 2021, he logged another 7 2/3 innings in the big leagues but mostly pitched in Triple-A, making 17 starts for 67 2/3 innings 5.05 ERA ball. Much like 2019, his ground ball rate was good at 45.7%, but the 18.5% strikeout rate was still lacking.
For a Pirates team that’s firmly in rebuild mode, there’s little harm in taking a flier on Medina, especially considering he’s still just 25 years old and has less than a year of MLB service time. He is out of options, however, meaning the club will have to keep him on the 40-man roster or else designate him for assignment again. Outside of veteran Jose Quintana, the team’s rotation currently consists of inexperienced younger hurlers. Medina will be competing against the likes of JT Brubaker, Zach Thompson, Bryse Wilson, Mitch Keller and others.
Damn…
ugh
Sucks that he never panned out
Go get Them Medina…
I’d rather have Medina than Camargo
Why was he on waivers. They already cut someone earlier today to make room for Schwarber. Another move coming
I believe he had been on waivers before the lockout. Maybe for Knebel.
ya it was pre-lockout, sadly.
Typical Pirates
Yep. That’s what they do. Claim a pitcher off waivers and turn him into a solid mlb piece.
…to one day trade to a real MLB team to then start the process anew.
A really good deal for the Pirate’s. Wished Miami would have scooped Medina up.
Pirates now claiming 25-26 year old pitchers instead of their usual 28-29 year old AAAA arms. I don’t know much about him but I’m intrigued by Adonis “Funky Cold” Medina.
Ugh! That was a hurt piece. Medina would of played a huge roll in our bullpen this year. That really sucks
The Phillies unfortunately NEVER let starting pitchers transition to the pen. I was thinking he should have been there to start last year.
He was on waivers for Johan Camargo.
This helps put the Pirates in contention again! Pirates are Super Bowl bound now lmfao!
On a serious note, there is no expectations for this club this year. Signing this guy isn’t a horrible move. The Pirates did that last year and had some luck with guys like Tyler Anderson and others. I hate this dumpster diving, but with a very small chance of winning this year, you can’t be completely upset.
With Oneil Cruz and Nick Gonzales being in the top 10 prospects rating going into the season. They even have them being in the majors this year. There is some light to the end of the tunnel. If they pan out and do well, it’s great for the fans. Pitching is a concern going forward though. It was the opposite during the last rebuild. I am not sure what’s going on with the pitching personnel and why they can’t tap into Mitch Keller potential. It seems to have gotten worse after Ray Searage departure. Could be just me though.
Can’t judge pitching development staff by Keller. The kid has this love affair with dead red. Fastballs and hanging curveballs over the middle of the plate. Yikes
But you’re right. There’s some light now. The question we still have to ask is if ownership is in this for the long haul
I agree with you on that much with Keller. It just appears that the pitching personnel is missing some important ingredient to help these young guys along. Brault wasn’t too bad during Searage era, but fell off the horse after Searage. I am not saying Ray should have stayed on by any means. Wheels come off and Ray couldn’t put it back together. I am just saying, something is broken with the pitching personnel in Pittsburgh and I hope it gets fixed before everything falls into place again.
Theoretically speaking though, if you put Keller in a Rays or even A’s uniform, you’d see the star caliber come out. I think that would go with other guys like Preister and TJ. Granted Preister is just starting his pro career, but I am afraid he’d hit a road block like Keller has at the MLB level. Something is off when pitchers are reaching the show. How many pitchers came through Pittsburgh last year? 40 something? It was phenomenal amount of pitching we saw come up and sent down/released. So, that is why I feel something is off with the pitching personnel.
As for ownership, with this last CBA deal, I doubt they spend any higher than 87 million on a solid year. I believe that is their ceiling even when stadium is packed. It’s such a shame too but Tampa and Oakland are around that ceiling too. When it exceeds that total, they strip it down and start over again. Those two organizations are the best at doing it in 5 years. If Pittsburgh can replicate what Tampa and Oakland does, we should be competitive next year or no later than 2024. It’s in that timeframe at least with the moves around made.
Very well stated and completely agree. That’s my suspicion about ownership. They (Nutting) went what he felt was all-in during the Cutch hey-days here are didn’t go very far in the playoffs. That window closed quickly and the star players were sent packing. I think under the MLB’s system, these guys have come to the conclusion that spending big money on salaries each year just isn’t conducive to the large profit margins they desire.
Which is why I’m suspicious about Cherington being able to complete his mission here when the kids arrive. How long before that window is closed again? What’s the overall 5 year plan?
As for Searage, he worked wonders with Burnett and Liriano but Morton and Cole had to go to Houston to truly become pitchers. Glasnow was another one, although the jury is still out on him
You’re right. I like what Cherington has assembled in terms of scouting—a breath of fresh air. Player development will be interesting to watch, especially pitchers. To me, this is somewhat of a make or break year for Keller
Pirates making their move!
The Age of Adonis has ended in Philadelphia.
Fudge. At least we kept Moss.
Hopefully he excels in Pitt. and can have Tone Loc as his intro music.
If he doesn’t have Funky Cold Medina as his walk up music then he should be given a suspension or just waived.
I heard that he was approved for a fourth year option, I don’t know if this is accurate. Can somebody verify?
Here’s the url. https://www.dkpittsburghsports.com/2022/03/16/pirates-phillies-adonis-medina-news-mlb-waiver-claim-ajs
this one hurts, been waiting years for him to figure out – unfortunately i don’t think it would have ever happened with the Phillies. now that he’s a low cost flier for the Pirates though, i fully expect him to reach more of his potential. best of luck Adonis! at least he’s still in PA
I seriously don’t know why the Phillies brass holds onto these prospects. Anyone brought in by the RAJ or Klentak regime should have been traded away the moment they showed any value. Worst period of talent evaluation I’ve ever seen.
How many legitimate big league players truly came out of that system that were drafted or intl signed? Rhys, Nola, Neris, Crawford, Giles, Bohm? Am I missing anyone that’s decent? Quinn is a 4th OF does that count?
I just read a sports news release on Smart News.
Says the Phillies are still interested in Nick Costalanos.
If both NC and KS are in the same line up with Bryce and Rhys, I can live with weak defense.
I’d love for them to go over the tax just so I know they are willing to. Getting a bit tired of defending Middleton for “only” spending $200 million.
I know, right? Phillies are consistently one of the bigger spenders. Just do it right!