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Yan Gomes

Cubs Place Yan Gomes On 10-Day IL, Activate Nico Hoerner

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The Cubs announced that catcher Yan Gomes has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left oblique strain.  Nico Hoerner will be taking Gomes’ spot on the active roster, as Hoerner has been activated from his own IL stint after being sidelined with a sprained right ankle.

Gomes’ absence leaves Chicago thin at catcher, as Willson Contreras has missed the team’s last four games with a strained right hamstring.  The Cubs haven’t yet placed Contreras on the injured list, and he is available off the bench for tonight’s game against the Reds, though one would imagine the Cubs would love to get through the game without having to test Contreras’ health.

P.J. Higgins is in tonight’s starting lineup at catcher, and could end up getting an unexpected amount of playing time if Contreras does eventually need an IL visit, or if Gomes is absent for an extended amount of time.  Gomes also missed time last year with an oblique injury, though it was a relatively mild strain that cost him just shy of three weeks.

After signing a two-year, $13MM free agent deal with the Cubs over the winter, Gomes has hit .247/.267/.384 in his first 75 plate appearances for the Wrigleyville club.  Gomes’ role is somewhere between backup and platoon partner, as Gomes has gotten some extra looks behind the plate while Contreras has been used as a DH on partial rest days.  The plan certainly seems to be working from Contreras’ perspective, as he has posted some strong hitting numbers early in the season.

Hoerner was playing as Chicago’s everyday shortstop due to Andrelton Simmons’ injury absence, but Hoerner had be sidelined after spraining his ankle in a collision with umpire Dan Iassogna.  Fortunately, it was a relatively minor spain, and Hoerner will now return just a few days beyond the 10-day minimum.  The Cubs have a pair of youngsters (Hoerner and Christopher Morel) and two veterans (Simmons, Jonathan Villar) in their middle infield mix, with Nick Madrigal on the injured list recovering from some lower back tightness.

Marlins Notes: Schwarber, Marte, Castellanos, Pina, Gomes, Stallings

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The Marlins are known to be looking for more outfield help, with Kyle Schwarber already reported as one of the names on the team’s radar.  Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of The Miami Herald shed some more light on the Marlins’ pursuit, writing that Schwarber is looking for a three-year contract worth around $60MM.

Such a deal would top the Marlins’ four-year, $53MM pact with Avisail Garcia in dollars if not years, though it would also fall short of the four years and $70MM MLBTR projected Schwarber to land this winter.  Three years and $60MM is still a healthy sum, particularly for a team with Miami’s traditionally limited payrolls, yet the Marlins have already shown a greater willingness to spend in order to upgrade their offense.

The Phillies are another team that has been linked to Schwarber, while the Red Sox and Nationals (the slugger’s two most recent clubs) have also expressed some level of interest in a reunion.  Since several of the top free-agent bats have already landed new deals, Schwarber’s status as one of the top hitters available has only risen, so it’s fair to assume that other teams have already shown interest or will do so once the post-lockout dust settles.  It remains to be seen whether Schwarber’s market will develop to the point where the Marlins or any other club eventually puts a four-year offer on the table.

Of other outfielders linked to the Marlins, Nick Castellanos “is viewed as too expensive,” while Eddie Rosario is another consideration if Schwarber is also ultimately deemed to be beyond Miami’s price range.  Recent reports indicated that Castellanos is looking to score a seven- or eight-year contract, and even if that is an aim-high projection that could be lowered post-lockout, it would still seem like Castellanos might not be a fit for the Fish.  Additionally, signing Castellanos have a further cost in the form of draft pick compensation, since he rejected the Reds’ qualifying offer.

The Marlins could possibly avoid the free agent route entirely by landing an outfielder in a trade, as before the lockout, Jackson and Mish note that Miami was in “ongoing discussions with one American League team.”  The in-house fallback plan would be to have Brian Anderson play right field and the newly-acquired Joey Wendle take over as the everyday third baseman, but the Fish would prefer to have an established outfielder on the grass rather than Anderson, even if Anderson has looked at home as an outfielder.  Anderson had a 7.9 UZR/150 and +6 Defensive Runs Saved over 1223 innings as a right fielder in 2018-19, but is also coming off an injury-plagued 2021 season.

Miami’s offseason pursuits led them to consider such players as Starling Marte, Manny Pina, and Yan Gomes, with the first two receiving contract offers.  For Marte, the Marlins and two other teams made four-year offers worth roughly $60MM, and according to Jackson/Mish, Miami was prepared to spend a little more to bring Marte back to South Beach.  Marte’s camp wanted something around a $70MM payday, however, and ended up topping that number handily with the $78MM over four years that Marte received from the Mets.

Pina was another player the Marlins lost to a division rival, as while the Fish offered Pina $4MM on a one-year deal, the Braves doubled that offer and signed Pina for two years and $8MM.  However, the Marlins instead landed a longer-term target in Jacob Stallings, acquiring the backstop from the Pirates for a three-player trade package.  Interestingly, Jackson/Mish write that the Red Sox came very close to trading for Stallings, which would have indicated the Sox were ready to move on from Christian Vazquez either next winter (2022 is Vazquez’s last year under contract) or perhaps this offseason if a trade partner could have been found.

Cubs To Sign Yan Gomes

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Catcher Yan Gomes has agreed to a two-year, $13MM deal to join the Chicago Cubs, pending a physical. The contract contains a $6MM option for a third year, as well as $1MM in performance bonuses available each year based on games started. Gomes is a client of Jet Sports Management.

Gomes was on the free agent market two years ago and signed a two-year deal with the Nationals that came with a $10MM guarantee. After a decent showing over those two seasons, including a trade to Oakland at this year’s trade deadline, Gomes entered this year’s market as arguably the best backstop available. Over the past two campaigns, Gomes played 133 games, hitting 18 home runs and slashing .260/.306/.432. When combined with solid defensive numbers, he produced 1.8 fWAR in that time. Now the 34-year-old has beaten his previous contract by $3MM. He also beats MLBTR’s prediction that he would get the same $10MM guarantee as his last trip to free agency.

Gomes is a veteran of ten seasons between the Blue Jays, Guardians, Nationals and Athletics. His best showing came in 2013-2014 with Cleveland, where his combination of potent offence and excellent defence led to him producing 9.4 fWAR over those two seasons. He hit 32 home runs and slashed .284/.325/.476, adding up to a wRC+ of 121. He followed that up with a couple of rough seasons in 2015 and 2016, partially because of a serious shoulder injury, but has since bounced back to be a solid regular over the past five seasons.

Gomes joins a Cubs team that already has a starting catcher in the form of Willson Contreras, who was one of the few long-standing Cubs to survive the team’s recent fire sale. They sent most of the remaining household names from their 2016 World Series championship club out the door at the trade deadline this year, including Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo, along with more recent additions to the club such as Craig Kimbrel and Ryan Tepera. Contreras, however, remains with the team, despite being just one season away from free agency.

The addition of Gomes seems to raise the specter of Contreras being the next guy out the door, and Contreras himself might even agree, as he tweeted a series of emojis showing a plane taking off and landing, perhaps implying that he is about to embark on a journey. Given the thin catching market, Contreras should be a hot commodity if he is indeed shopped around on the trade market. The 29-year-old, 30 in May, has been an above-average hitter in each of his six seasons so far, along with contributing on the defensive side of his game. In 621 career games, he has 95 home runs and has hit .259/.349/.458, for a wRC+ of 114 and 12.0 fWAR.

Craig Mish of SportsGrid first reported the two-year deal with a $13MM guarantee. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first relayed the $6MM option for a third year and the $1MM annual performance bonuses.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

A’s Place James Kaprielian On 10-Day Injured List, Designate Domingo Acevedo, Jacob Wilson For Assignment

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The A’s made a number of roster moves today to make room for the additions of recently acquired Yan Gomes and Josh Harrison. Aramis Garcia was optioned to Triple-A, and James Kaprielian was placed on the 10-day injured list with a shoulder impingement. To make room on the 40-man roster, Domingo Acevedo and Jacob Wilson were designated for assignment, per Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter links).

Kaprielian was supposed to start tomorrow’s ballgame. Daulton Jefferies will get the call-up to take his place, so another roster move will need to be made at that point, tweets Kawahara. Jefferies made his debut in a two-inning outing last season but has spent the entirety of 2021 at Triple-A thus far. He’s made 12 starts with a 5.19 ERA spanning 59 innings.

Kaprielian, meanwhile, came up and seized a rotation spot this season. He’s marked a 3.24 ERA/4.15 FIP across 72 1/3 innings with a 26.5 percent strikeout rate and 9.1 percent walk rate. The Athletics don’t expect the shoulder issue to be significant, so the hope is that he’ll be able to return to the rotation before long.

Acevedo and Wilson will now be exposed to waivers. Acevedo, 27, made three appearances with the big league club, while Wilson was just 1-for-7 in limited playing time.

More significantly, perhaps, is Garcia’s demotion, as he’s likely to remain in Triple-A for some time as Gomes takes over the backup role to Sean Murphy. Garcia came over from Texas as part of the Elvis Andrus/Khris Davis deal that also saw Oakland swap out Jonah Heim. Garcia was intended to serve as a stopgap backup, but he hit just .205/.239/.318 in 94 plate appearances.

Athletics To Acquire Yan Gomes, Josh Harrison

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2:21pm: Shayna Rubin of the San Jose Mercury News reports the A’s are sending three minor leaguers to the Nats: catcher Drew Millas, righty Richard Guasch and righty Seth Shuman.

1:53pm: The Athletics have agreed to a deal acquiring catcher Yan Gomes and infielder/outfielder Josh Harrison from the Nationals, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan (via Twitter). The deal is pending medical review of the involved players.

Gomes, 34, is in the second season of a two-year, $10MM contract and has gotten out to a strong start, hitting at a .271/.323/.454 clip with nine homers, 11 doubles and a triple as the primary backstop in D.C — a demonstrable uptick from the league-average .226/.307/.387 slash posted by catchers so far in 2022. He’ll pair with Sean Murphy to give the A’s a pair of backstops who are outpacing that average level of offense behind the plate. Gomes also carries a terrific defensive reputation, which is supported by strong framing numbers and a robust 36 percent caught-stealing rate on the year.

Harrison, meanwhile, gives the A’s a versatile 34-year-old bench piece who has done nothing but hit since signing in Washington. He’s playing the year on a $1MM base salary and has turned in his best offensive showing since an All-Star 2014 campaign. Overall, Harrison has turned in a .291/.363/.431 slash in 450 plate appearances in parts of two seasons with the Nats. He’s experienced at second base, third base and in the outfield corners, so he’ll give manager Bob Melvin a right-handed bat with plenty of versatility for matchup-based lineup construction.

Millas, 23, was drafted by the A’s in the seventh round out of Missouri State by the A’s back in 2019.  Baseball America labeled him a 40-grade prospect prior to the season, calling him “one of the top defensive college catchers” in his draft class.  His bat is considered more of a question mark.  Millas is hitting .255/.372/.359 in 266 High-A plate appearances this year.

Guasch, 23, has worked to a 4.67 ERA, 26.8 K%, and 11.4 BB% in 54 High-A innings this year.

More to come.

Blue Jays, Athletics Reportedly Interested In Yan Gomes

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8:55am: There is indeed a sense in the organization that Gomes could be moved today, tweets Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. That could, however be the final move for them, he adds.

Meanwhile, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet tweets that the Blue Jays do have “real interest” in bringing Gomes back to the organization.

1:59am: The Blue Jays and Athletics are among the teams interested in Nationals catcher Yan Gomes, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). The veteran backstop is widely expected to wind up on the move by Friday afternoon’s deadline as the Nationals continue to move players off the big league roster. Gomes recently missed a couple weeks with an oblique strain but he was reinstated from the injured list this morning.

As an impending free agent, Gomes is a logical trade candidate for the suddenly-retooling Nats. He’s on a $6MM contract for 2021, with about $2MM still to be paid out. That’s not too onerous a sum, although it might be noteworthy enough to concern the A’s, who have shown little willingness to take on payroll in any midseason deals to this point.

Gomes is having a nice season, hitting an above-average .271/.323/.454 across 235 plate appearances. That’s particularly strong output for his position, considering catchers entered play on Thursday with a cumulative .226/.307/.387 slash leaguewide.

The Jays would be something of an odd fit for Gomes, who actually broke in with Toronto back in 2012. The club already has Reese McGuire, Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen on the 40-man roster. That glut likely contributed to the Jays decision to trade young backstop Riley Adams to Washington for Brad Hand. That said, Gomes would add a veteran presence to the mix, and Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins are plenty familiar with the player from their days with the Indians.

A Gomes pursuit would be a more straightforward move for the A’s. Sean Murphy is having another good season, but backup Aramis Garcia has a .205/.239/.318 line in 94 plate appearances. Gomes would be an obvious upgrade and could help shoulder some of Murphy’s workload for the stretch run.

Red Sox Acquire Kyle Schwarber From Nationals

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The Red Sox have made a significant addition to the lineup, announcing the acquisition of corner outfielder Kyle Schwarber from the Nationals. Pitching prospect Aldo Ramirez is headed back to Washington in return. To create 40-man roster space, Boston designated reliever Brandon Workman for assignment.

It’s the continuation of a rapid sell-off for the Nationals, who were straddling the line between buying and selling as recently as last week. A recent run of poor play has made their direction clear, with Washington moving a series of veterans in rapid succession. No move was bigger than the reported Max Scherzer – Trea Turner blockbuster with the Dodgers, of course. But Washington has also traded reliever Brad Hand and Schwarber today, and it seems there’s more on the horizon. Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post reported this evening the Nats are also fielding offers on reliever Daniel Hudson, utilityman Josh Harrison and potentially on catcher Yan Gomes.

Schwarber is currently on the 10-day injured list on account of a right hamstring strain. It seems he’s still a couple weeks away from returning, but he was on an absolute tear before he went down. The 28-year-old won the National League Player of the Month award in June after blasting a league-best sixteen home runs. Thanks largely to that incredible run, Schwarber’s amidst the best season of his career. The left-handed hitting slugger has a .253/.340/.570 line (138 wRC+) with 25 homers across 303 plate appearances.

That level of play certainly warranted Washington’s $10MM investment in Schwarber last offseason. He’s playing the 2021 campaign on a $7MM salary, with around $2.4MM still to be paid through the end of the season. Schwarber is also guaranteed a $3MM buyout on an $11MM mutual option covering the 2022 campaign. Mutual options are rarely exercised by both parties, so the Sox are likely to view Schwarber as a rental acquisition. The midseason trade rules out any chance that Schwarber’s tagged with a qualifying offer this winter.

Schwarber has primarily been a corner outfielder over the course of his career, but it’s possible the Red Sox front office views him as a potential solution for their subpar first base situation. While he’s never played the position in the major leagues, it would be a surprise if he didn’t see some time there in Boston.

The Sox have gotten good work from Alex Verdugo and Hunter Renfroe in the corner outfield this year. Either of those players are capable of kicking over to center field in a pinch, but with top prospect Jarren Duran now in the big leagues, it seems likely there’ll be some days where Schwarber lines up at first with that trio manning the grass. Obviously, J.D. Martinez has the designated hitter spot spoken for.

However Alex Cora decides to manage his roster, there’s no question Boston’s making an offensive upgrade. The Red Sox hold a modest 1.5 game lead in the American League East over the Rays, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom and the front office continue to explore other acquisitions in the coming hours.

Neither team made mention of cash considerations, so it seems as though the Red Sox will assume the remainder of the money owed to Schwarber. That’s a rather significant development, as taking on the prorated portion of Schwarber’s $10MM luxury tax hit puts the Sox near the $210MM CBT threshold. Jason Martinez of Roster Resource estimates Boston’s current luxury number at just below $214MM. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe, however, reports the Red Sox are “scraping” the tax threshold but haven’t yet exceeded it. Speier suggests the club is exploring deals that might eventually take them over that mark, particularly as part of an ongoing effort to bolster the pitching staff.

In exchange for Schwarber, the Nationals pick up a promising young arm in the lower levels of the system. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs immediately slotted Ramirez as the #8 prospect in the organization. Over the offseason, Longenhagen wrote that the righty had a velocity spike that pushed his high-spin fastball into the low 90’s. Ramirez has a good changeup and advanced control, and he’s performed well this season. The 21-year-old has tossed 31 innings of 2.03 ERA ball in Low-A, striking out a decent 24.6% of opponents with a minuscule 6.2% walk rate.

The Schwarber acquisition ends Workman’s second stint with the Red Sox. Signed to a minor league deal after being cut loose by the Cubs, the right-hander tossed 18 innings of 3.50 ERA ball with Boston. His peripherals didn’t support that level of run prevention, though, as Workman has issued fourteen walks while striking out thirteen. It’s possible he’s traded before tomorrow afternoon’s deadline, but it seems likelier he’ll wind up on the waiver wire. If he clears waivers, Workman would have the right to elect free agency.

Robert Murray of FanSided first reported the Red Sox were acquiring Schwarber. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported Ramirez’s inclusion.

Nationals Place Yan Gomes On 10-Day Injured List, Designate Kyle Lobstein For Assignment

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The Nationals waited until the last possible moment before today’s game to make a final decision on catcher Yan Gomes, who left yesterday’s game with an apparent oblique injury. They did, however, ultimately place him on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain, per Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (via Twitter). In corresponding moves, reliever Kyle Lobstein has been designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for catcher Jakson Reetz, who will have his contract selected as he is added to the active roster.

It’s quite the whirlwind for Reetz, who spent just three days in Triple-A, backfilling for Tres Barrera, who was promoted to the bigs after last week’s Alex Avila injury. Reetz has yet to record his first hit at the Triple-A level, but he’s up on the Major League roster anyhow, presumably backing up Barrera. Reetz hit .233/.357/.383 in 143 plate appearances with the Double-A Senators in his first action above High-A ball.

The Nationals are already relatively short-handed in the bullpen, but the sudden rash of injuries to their catching corps forces them to expose Lobstein to waivers nonetheless. Washington lost T.J. McFarland to the Cardinals when Lobstein was added to the 40-man roster last week, and the Cardinals proceeded to snipe right-hander Justin Miller a couple days after that. Lobstein doesn’t have the track record of either McFarland or Miller, but the 31-year-old southpaw could very well find himself with a new organization by the end of the week. He was hit hard in three appearances for the Nats, his first Major League action since appearing in 34 games (17 starts) for the Tigers and Pirates from 2014 to 2016. He has a 5.06 ERA/4.39 FIP over 128 career innings.

Gomes, of course, is the headliner here. The 33-year-old Brazilian backstop has been a steady presence for the Nationals since they acquired him from the Indians prior to the 2019 season. Not only did he help steer the ship in their championship season — playing every inning of the final four games of the World Series after Kurt Suzuki was injured — but he has taken on an increased load in his age-33 season, starting 68 percent of their games behind the plate this year. In his two prior seasons in Washington, Gomes handled 57 percent of the catching workload.

He’s helped carry the load offensively as well. Gomes is slashing .266/.320/.439 with eight home runs in 231 plate appearances. That’s good for 102 wRC+, an above-average mark for any position, but well above the catchers’ average of 89 wRC+.

Injury Notes: Nationals, Twins, Braves

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Nationals catcher Yan Gomes left yesterday’s ballgame in the second inning with what appeared to be a strained oblique, per Bobby Blanco of MASNsports.com. Losing Gomes would be a significant blow for the Nationals, who already placed his backup, Alex Avila, on the injured list earlier this week. Yadiel Hernandez would currently be the Nats’ emergency catcher, though a roster move could come later today if Gomes is expected to miss any amount of time. Tres Barrera is the other option currently on the active roster. He figures to start today’s ballgame at the very least. The Nats could try to get by with just Hernandez backing up Barrera for the next couple of days with the All-Star break starting on Monday.

Now, let’s check on a couple other injury updates from around the game…

  • Twins catcher Mitch Garver caught a bullpen session on Friday. Both Garver and Jake Cave could begin rehab assignments in Triple-A next week, writes MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park (via Twitter).Cave’s return would be particularly notable for the Twins, so long as Kyle Garlick, Rob Refsnyder, and Byron Buxton all remain on the injured list. Rookies Gilberto Celestino and Nick Gordon have been pushed into action in centerfield, where the 28-year-old Cave has seen the majority of his playing time over his four years with Minnesota. Cave started slowly at the dish this season, slashing just .167/.239/.262 in 93 plate appearances before a back injury sent him to the injured list on May 15th. He will be eligible for activation after the All-Star break.
  • Speaking of Refsnyder and Garlick, manager Rocco Baldelli touched on their progress as well, Park adds. Refnsyder could be nearing a return from a hamstring strain, but Garlick hasn’t made much progress. He could still be facing surgery. Garlick has been out for the past month with a sports hernia after logging a perfectly average 100 wRC+ in 107 plate appearances.
  • Braves right-hander Mike Soroka recently underwent successful surgery to repair a torn Achilles for the second time since he last appeared in the Majors, per The Athletic’s David O’Brien (via Twitter). It was Soroka’s third surgery in total. Soroka figures to be out until at least July 2022, though an official timetable for his recovery has not yet been made public.

Nationals Reinstate Four Players From Injured List

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1:13 pm: Corbin has also cleared COVID-19 protocols, manager Dave Martinez told reporters (including Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). The left-hander met the team in Los Angeles but it isn’t known if he’ll make a start this weekend.

12:29 pm: The Nationals have reinstated Alex Avila, Yan Gomes, Brad Hand and Jordy Mercer from the COVID-19 injured list, per a team announcement. Carter Kieboom, Tres Barrera and Ryne Harper were optioned, while Cody Wilson was reassigned to the alternate training site. Washington was without nine players for their season-opening series against the Braves due to coronavirus spread among the team. Jon Lester, Patrick Corbin, Josh Harrison, Josh Bell and Kyle Schwarber remain on the COVID IL.

The return of Avila and Gomes gives the Nats’ their expected catching tandem back in time for this afternoon’s contest against the Dodgers. While Barrera was optioned out, Washington elected to keep Jonathan Lucroy on the active roster, so they’ll go with three backstops for the time being.

Wilson, meanwhile, was designated as a “replacement player” under the 2021 COVID-19 protocols. He was called up temporarily as part of the initial wave of reinforcements, but he has now been removed from the 40-man roster without having been designated for assignment or exposed to waivers.

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