The Astros have requested unconditional release waivers on outfielder Carlos Gomez, who had recently been designated for assignment, tweets MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Though Houston was said at one point to be likely to reach a deal to trade the former star, he’ll instead hit the open market in 48 hours, assuming no team claims the $2.21MM he is owed through season’s end.
With the move, Gomez’s disappointing tenure with the Astros officially ends. Acquired to provide a major boost to the organization just over one year ago, he ultimately contributed a meager .221/.277/.342 batting line in 486 plate appearances.
That represented an unbelievable fall-off given the 30-year-old’s recent track record. Though his numbers were down a bit early in 2015, he was coming off of a two-year run in which he slashed .284/.347/.491 and launched 47 home runs with 74 steals in 1,234 plate appearances. That was all the more impressive given Gomez’s excellent defensive metrics in center.
All told, at the time of the deal, he seemed to be one of the better all-around players in all of baseball. With one more year of control (2016) then left on Gomez’s highly affordable contract at the time, Houston GM Jeff Luhnow elected to part with four quality prospects to add Gomez and righty Mike Fiers.
It remains to be seen what will come next for Gomez, who not long ago seemed set for a monster contract in free agency after the present season. Instead, he’ll hit the open market early. The Cardinals and Mets had been said to have interest in his services, but recent reports have downplayed the likelihood of those landing spots. However with Giancarlo Stanton out for the year, the Marlins have been said to have interest and do appear to make for a good match.
Teams eyeing Gomez will probably be able to hang their hat on his still-useful outfield glove, which has fallen in defense metrics but remains playable in center. A signing, though, would mean a roll of the dice on his fading bat. Of course, once he clears release waivers Gomez can be had for nothing but the pro-rated portion of the league minimum — which amounts to roughly $125K — as Houston will cover the remainder of his $9MM salary.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Plus he is a clubhouse distraction and one of the most disliked players in MLB.
Lwayne: how do you know this? WHAT clubhouses have YOU been in?? Try using facts at some point
sacramento.cbslocal.com/2016/08/16/could-papelbon-…
That is the first article that came up. It’s just a blurb halfway through but there it is in print for ya. Also, try googling “Carlos Gomez clubhouse cancer”. That should give you enough reading material for several hours.
You were saying something about facts?
He was well-liked in the Brewers clubhouse.
Exactly…… This guy has no clue what he talking about
Just because you don’t like his flashiness, doesn’t mean he’s bad for a clubhouse. He’s had issues with Brian McCann (who loves to pick fights) and Gerrit Cole, who didn’t like that he watched a long fly ball. How does that equate to a bad teammate?
Angels… Here we come …
I think he would be a good addition to the Rangers. He would be good off the bench and I think is a upgrade over drew Stubbs can’t do much worse atleast.
With the chemistry that the Rangers have I wouldn’t want to bother if I were them. They’re definitely not desperate for more production also…. unlike a team such as the Marlins.
It would make sense for the mets, so they probably won’t even try.
It makes zero sense for the Mets, they have 4 outfielders the way it is
If you thought he had potential value, you pick him up with a reasonably-priced option for 2017. If he looks like he can still play, you get his services for a below-market rate and he gets a pillow year to rebuild his value.
But you need to catch lightening in a bottle. It’s possible he has nothing left
“Teams eyeing Gomez will probably be able to hang their hat on his still-useful outfield glove” – Whomever wrote that must not have seen his last game, against the Twins, when he completely lost the ball and was one step away from ducking and covering like someone lobbed a grenade into center field, before having the ball land 30 feet behind him. Not only couldn’t he hit this year, his defense has been awful.
He just needs to put his glasses back on
Everyone committs errors at some point. Gomez’s 994 fielding percentage suggests a capable fielder. Gomez is terrible. You don’t have to exaggerate to make it worse.
That’s true, all the most accurate defensive stats use one game sample sizes. Everyone knows this, it’s science.
Back to the Brewers? Loved Milwaukee.
He just needs to start wearing his glasses again so he can see!
The Orioles could make sense. He would be a huge upgrade over Reimold to platoon with Kim in left and could even play center and right to give Jones and Trumbo some rest.
Tigers
BREWERS
Japan
Great trade ….. Well done brew crew