Kansas City Royals have interest in Jonny Gomes

Having received subpar production from right field for much of the season and unhappy with their current in-house options, the Kansas City Royals have been rumored to be seeking an upgrade at the position for some time now. Few names have been publicized in the team’s pursuits but Jonny Gomes of the Boston Red Sox appears to be the team’s latest target, according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.

Gomes has been having a down season with the Red Sox, coming into the All Star break batting just .234/.329/.351 on the season in 222 plate appearances. His splits are significant, however. Against left-handed pitchers he’s hitting a robust .306/.403/.429 with three of his five home runs on the season. Gomes has always handled lefties well, with a .279/.379/.496 line against them in his career.

He’s due just over $2 Million for the remainder of the season and will be a free agent at year’s end. Now that Boston has slipped into the bottom of the AL East, the team could look to move some of their veteran players. Gomes is well liked in the Boston clubhouse and won’t bring back a significant return, but he could be one of the club’s more tradeable assets.

Kansas City thought that they’d addressed their need in right field prior to the season, when they acquired Nori Aoki from the Milwaukee Brewers. Aoki wasn’t a flashy addition, but his success getting on base over his two seasons with the Brewers lended reason to believe that he’d prove to be a useful piece near the top of the Royals lineup. He’s struggled on the year, hitting just .260/.328/.322, and platooning him – first with Justin Maxwell and more recently with Raul Ibanez – hasn’t helped rectify the situation.