The Houston Astros have placed center fielder Carlos Gomez on the 15 day DL not because he’s severely hurt, but because the club is stuck in a funk and needs to shuffle things up.
Carlos Gomez was just placed on the 15 day disabled list for a sore/bruised left rib cage. Prior to that, Houston Astros General Manager Jeff Luhnow voiced his opinion surrounding the two-time All-Star center fielder, saying, “it’s hard to continue to play a player that isn’t helping you win ballgames.”
The struggling Astros (15-24) were a popular preseason pick to win AL West. Full of youth and talent, the club took MLB by storm last year and surprised a lot of people by winning 86 games to claim an AL wild card seed.
Gomez certainly is not the only issue on the club right now, but as Luhnow mentioned, he isn’t helping their cause. The 30-year-old outfielder was hitting just .182/.238/.248 before being moved to the DL.
That move seems like more of a formality to open up a roster spot than anything else. Gomez has been playing with bruised ribs for a while now, but it’s clear the Astros need to shuffle up their outfield and look for production elsewhere for the time being.
Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle was able to get more out of Luhnow regarding Gomez’s declining play, with the Astros’ GM noting that:
"Gomez certainly has had plenty of at-bats, and he’s had a chance to help our club, and he’s not performing the way he feels he should or we feel he should. He’s the first one that will admit that"
Gomez has primarily played center field this season. Colby Rasmus could get more starts there with George Springer anchoring down right field aptly. Jake Marisnick or Preston Tucker could see more playing time with Gomez now on the shelf, though neither of them are showing manger A.J. Hinch a lot in 2016.
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Marisnick is batting .100 with one extra base hit in 31 plate appearances, while Tucker has hit .176 with three home runs and five RBI mostly as a DH this season across 89 plate appearances.
While Gomez wasn’t hitting for average this season, his power numbers were obsolete as well. From 2012-15 he hit 78 home runs, but has gone without a round tripper so far in 2016. His .486 OPS is way off from his career norm of .724, however his eight doubles ranked second on the team.
The finger cannot solely be pointed at Gomez. His time on the DL is likely more to allow him to clear his mind and come back with a new approach in a few weeks time. But the Astros lead all of MLB with 387 strikeouts this season. Their team batting average of .233 ranks 27th league-wide.
It’s not just bad on offense, either, as defending AL Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel has not at all looked like the ace he was in 2015. At just 2-5 with a monstrous 5.58 ERA, he settled down some in a no decision May 7 versus the AL West leading Mariners. Keuchel pitched seven innings of two-run ball, striking out eight. But he followed that up on May 12 with getting shelled by the Red Sox for eight runs over six innings in a loss.
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Right now, change is a good thing for the Houston Astros. If the club continues to falter, look for more definitive changes to follow Gomez’s move to the DL in the form of the club selling off assets at the deadline. Gomez himself is a great candidate to be traded, even if that means Houston has to sell low. He’s set to be a UFA after this season.