Cleveland Indians: Yan Gomes Makes Rehab Start for Akron Rubberducks

Cleveland Indians catcher Yan Gomes is on the road to recovery from his shoulder injury, making a minor league rehab appearance on Friday night.

Yan Gomes has had a 2016 season he’d probably like to forget for the Cleveland Indians. There were epic struggles at the plate and, on July 17th in a game against the Minnesota Twins, the Tribe backstop suffered a dislocated right shoulder in a strange play at first base.

Despite not having Gomes anywhere close to the form that won him a Silver Slugger award in 2014, Cleveland has had at least a share of first place in the American League Central every day since June 4th. While the 29-year old from Sao Paulo might want to chalk this season up as just not being his year, the fact is he’s still an important piece of the puzzle for the Indians, and his beginning the road back to the active roster is a positive development.

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Gomes made his first minor league rehab appearance on Friday night, starting as designated hitter for the Double-A Akron Rubberducks. In an encouraging performance, he went 2-for-3 on the night, including ripping a double down the left field line in his first at-bat, driving in a run and scoring twice.

It was a first step towards getting back to the pennant race for Gomes, who still must build confidence in his shoulder.

In 71 games played for the Tribe this year, Gomes has a miserable .165/.198/.313 slash line, with 11 doubles, eight home runs, and 32 RBIs. His OPS+ of 29 and bWAR of -0.7 are among the worst in all of Major League Baseball, though he has still rated well defensively and has the trust of the pitching staff.

Cleveland’s catching corps in general has been a black hole offensively in 2016, ranking at the bottom of the AL in most statistical categories, a fact that prompted the club’s attempt to obtain Jonathan Lucroy from the Milwaukee Brewers at the trade deadline.

It is still unclear whether Gomes’ shoulder will allow him to strap on the catcher’s gear again this season, and the Indians are already carrying three catchers with Adam Moore being called up from Triple-A Columbus on Thursday to join Roberto Perez and Chris Gimenez. Manager Terry Francona has mentioned the possibility of Gomes contributing as a DH when he returns.

The Indians transferred Gomes to the 60-day DL to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for reliever Perci Garner, who was called up and made his MLB debut on Wednesday.

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Gomes is scheduled to DH for the Rubberducks again on Sunday before a decision is made on how his remaining rehab schedule is determined.