Veteran outfielder Carlos Gomez elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment from the Mets, per the International League transactions log. He was designated for assignment over the weekend.
Gomez, 33, ripped a trio of home runs in his brief reunion with the Mets — including a go-ahead three-run shot not long after being selected from the minor leagues. However, his overall body of work in his return to Queens, where he made his MLB debut as a 21-year-old back in 2007, proved underwhelming. In 99 trips to the plate, the two-time All-Star and former Gold Glover hit just .198/.278/.337 with 30 strikeouts.
Gomez had a solid season with the Rangers back in 2017, but his brief All-Star peak from 2013-14 is now a distant memory. Gomez batted a combined .284/.347/.491 with 47 homers, 74 steals and strong defense in that stretch, racking up 12.3 WAR along the way. Since that brilliant pair of seasons, he’s hit a combined .236/.311/.395 in 1863 plate appearances. He’s not the elite runner he once was, but Gomez still possesses above-average speed (79th percentile in average sprint speed, per Statcast) and is experienced at all three outfield spots, making him a reasonable minor league pickup for a team in need of outfield depth.
Worst Stros trade ever…what a clown.
On July 30, 2015, the Brewers traded Gómez and Mike Fiers to the Houston Astros for Brett Phillips, Domingo Santana, Josh Hader, and Adrian Houser.
Wikipedia › wiki › Carlos_Gómez
To the Astros defence, Fiers threw a no-hitter against the Dodgers.
… but yeah, Milwaukee won that trade.
I was there… Outfield bar. Last pitch is my phone lockscreen.
Hey at least you robbed the dodgers of Yordan Alvarez!
You need to check again. I think trading Pence to the Phillies and Joe Morgan to the Reds were the worst Astros trades. Maybe the Caminiti trade too.
Who did the Astros get for Curt Shilling and Steve Finley?
The Reds also picked up a 4 time Gold Glove centerfielder in Cesar Geronimo and a pretty good starter Jack Billingham in that trade. I would definitely rate this as a worse trade.
Any other Carlos out there want to elect FA?
Well that’s two in one day!
CarGo-ing, Going, Gone !!!!
Brewers should get him and trade him to Astros for Verlander and Cole.
That’s hilarious!
Haha we should throw in Kyle Tucker as well… terrible trade for my Astros.
Just goes to show us yet again that even good front offices get things wrong once in awhile. I can’t see Carlos’ name without thinking of that Brewers trade — what a fleece!
Glad he got called out as a pinch runner without the ball being pitched in the 2015 ALCS vs the Royals. Knew as soon as he was put in he’d do something stupid.
He is the worst! And still acts like an arrogant jerk out there.
No team needs this guy.
Retire
Puts on a helluva display in batting practice. Problem is pitchers know he can’t hit anything with a wrinkle.