Cleveland Indians: Should They Consider Carlos Gomez?

Should the Cleveland Indians Consider Adding OF Carlos Gomez?

At one time, Carlos Gomez was one of the best outfielders in all of baseball. He could hit for power, average, steal bases, and played some great defense in center field. However, things have gone from bad to worse for the former All-Star as after struggling for the past year, has been designated for assignment by the Houston Astros. Any team in baseball can put in a claim on him or make a trade with the Astros for his services, and the question is, should the Cleveland Indians be one of those teams that try and grab him? At first glance, the answer would appear no but perhaps he could be worth a look… 

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The Cleveland Indians are having a great season despite missing outfielder Michael Brantley for nearly all of it. The combination of Rajai Davis, Lonnie Chisenhall, Tyler Naquin, and utility man Jose Ramirez has given the Indians one of the better outfields in the American League this year and helped lead them to first place in the Central Division. However, despite the great play to this point, the Indians have checked in on outfield help, including adding platoon outfielder Brandon Guyer at the deadline. Guyer is a perfect fit on the team, giving the club some balance as a right-handed bat to pair up with the left-handed hitting Tyler Naquin and Lonnie Chisenhall.

Abraham Almonte Helping Out

In addition to adding Guyer, the Indians also have been getting a boost from switch-hitter Abraham Amonte who re-joined the team in July following his 80-game ban for performance enhancing drugs. The issue with Almonte is he’s always been better versus right-handed pitching in his career, so despite hitting well in a (very) small sample size versus left-handed pitching this year, it may be wise to at least consider a replacement for him down the stretch, even if it’s just a platoon player. This is where Carlos Gomez could (maybe) make some sense for the Cleveland Indians…

Currently, the Indians are using Guyer in left field, Davis in center field, and Almonte in right field with a left-handed starting pitcher on the mound. Guyer has a history of crushing lefties while Davis has been rock-solid all year. Even Almonte in right field has been a positive for the Tribe this year.Sure, he looked pretty bad defensively in the finale in Washington, but overall the numbers like Almonte in right. He has a +4 DRS (defensive runs saved) and +2.5 UZR (ultimate zone rating).

Sure, he looked pretty bad defensively in the finale in Washington, but overall the numbers like Almonte in right. He has a +4 DRS (defensive runs saved) and +2.5 UZR (ultimate zone rating). Obviously, that’s a small sample size but in his career in the outfield, he has a +11 DRS and +11.1 UZR. He won’t be winning any gold gloves but he gets the job done (usually). In just over a month he has also posted a 0.7 fWAR, which is pretty good (that’s about a 3-win pace over a full season).

Next: Almonte Ineligible for Postseason?