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« Rays Rumors: Navarro, Aybar | Main | Dan O'Dowd - GM Trade History »
White Sox Quiet About Yasser Gomez
White Sox GM Ken Williams was asked about 28-year-old Cuban center fielder Yasser Gomez at SoxFest today. Are the White Sox interested? Williams said, "I don't think he is a get. It might be counterproductive [for Gomez's agent Jaime Torres] to deal with just one team." On the other hand, Mark Gonzales says Williams "tried to dance around" a question about Gomez by saying, "We're looking at a lot of players."
Gomez, a speedy outfielder and career .331 hitter in Cuba, hit .397 over a 66-game span in Cuba's 2008 national series tournament. In a video earlier this month from Newsday, the Cuban defector expanded on his Major League dreams.
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Wow... .331 career in Cuba? What do you think that will translate to on the MLB level?
Posted by: Agent | January 31, 2009 at 11:52 PM
Well, Alexei Ramirez hit about .335 career in Cuba before he came over. He hit .290 last season. Its hard to say how another player might adjust, however. I think Gomez is worth a look. If he is as fast as his rep suggests, and he can hit .290 and get on base, he might be a good option at center field. He might not be major league ready yet, but it would put one more guy in the mix at spring training.
Later,
Aaron
Posted by: Aaron | February 01, 2009 at 09:59 AM
Just a hunch, but if (and thats a big if) this guy signs with the Sox and can hit around .300, the White Sox would have to be the favorite in the central.
Posted by: OmegaMan | February 01, 2009 at 10:25 AM
If this guy is a potential leadoff hitting center fielder, then I don't know how the White Sox don't jump all over this.
They already have Alexei and Contreras, and Gomez is literally a perfect fit for the team if he pans out.
They really need a legitimate ledaoff hitter, they haven't had one since Podsednik back in 2005-2006.
The price will obviously be pretty cheap, and the upside seems to be there, so I don't see why not.
Posted by: scribbletone | February 01, 2009 at 10:40 AM
I'd love to see Gomez sign with someone already. It will be a great story for him to defect from Cuba and have a successful MLB career. Also its not that easy for a team to find a good leadoff hitter.
I'm kind of surprised I haven't heard more Yankees chatter about looking at him as an option. Centerfield is up in the air for them right now and Damon is in his last contract year. It would be preferable to find a younger, faster option to Damon for the Yankees next year.
Posted by: Jeff Levy | February 01, 2009 at 11:31 AM
I expect him to sign with the White Sox or Yankees. In the rare times KW does play coy, there usually is something to it. This actually does make sense. If he does sign what will the Jerry Owens fans do?
Posted by: tdogg | February 01, 2009 at 01:16 PM
"If he does sign what will the Jerry Owens fans do?"
Posted by: tdogg | February 01, 2009 at 01:16 PM
--------------
There's Jerry Owens fans?
....why?
Posted by: SoxWin | February 01, 2009 at 03:49 PM
If the White Sox sign Gomez,they will then put together a package and trade for Peavy!
I couldn't resist!
Posted by: rfro | February 01, 2009 at 03:56 PM
"If the White Sox sign Gomez,they will then put together a package and trade for Peavy!
I couldn't resist!"
Sox don't need Peavy, he is not worth the farm.
I think KW signs this kid. Lead-off hitter, CF, a ton of speed, it fits the bill that KW has been praising this entire off-season.
Posted by: ChiSoxKilla23 | February 01, 2009 at 04:23 PM
I wish he would get it done already
Posted by: rfro | February 01, 2009 at 04:38 PM
Ok, I'm not what you would call a "Jerry Owens Fan", but to call Pods a true leadoff man, and then bag Owens is kind of silly. Pods has a career OBP of .337. The year the Sox won the World Series it was only .351. He hit for a .290 average that year and it was the second and last year that he crossed the .350 OBP mark and the .270 batting average mark. His biggest weapon was his speed with a healthy stolen base record up until 2006, but as we all know, pure speed does not a leadoff hitter make.
Now, I'm not saying Owens is any better, but he certainly has the potential to do as well or better. The difference between Owens and Pods is that Owens is unproven. He certainly has the speed to steal a boat load of bases (he stole 32 in under 100 games in 2007). If he is healthy this season, he could be as effective if not better than Pods was at the number one spot.
Now, before you flame me, I'm not saying that I like the idea of Owens leading off. I certainly hope he can prove all of the doubters wrong and be great in that spot, but if we can snag Gomez and the guy is a better option, by all means, lets do it.
Later,
Aaron
Posted by: Aaron | February 01, 2009 at 06:09 PM
LF Johnny Damon
SS Derek Jeter
1B Mark Teixeira
3B Alex Rodriguez
C Jorge Posada
RF Xavier Nady
DH Hideki Matsui
2B Robinson Cano
CF Yasser Gomez
Posted by: mikelovesbaseball94 | February 01, 2009 at 09:44 PM
You know, now that I see the Yankees lineup...its not that tough
Posted by: rfro | February 01, 2009 at 10:22 PM