At last year’s trade deadline, the Houston Astros acquired Carlos Gomez to be an impact bat after the New York Mets passed up the opportunity. After just over a year of lackluster production, the Astros have decided to designate Gomez for assignment.
Brian McTaggart of MLB.com tweeted out the news while Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle seemingly confirmed the transaction.
Source: Astros have designated OF Carlos Gomez for assignment.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) August 10, 2016
Carlos Gomez tells me he has been DFA'd. He just left the visitors clubhouse at Target Field to catch a flight back to Houston.
— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) August 10, 2016
After batting just .210 with a .272 on-base percentage this season, Gomez has been a hole in the lineup that just hasn’t gotten on a hot streak of any kind. He holds a 58 wRC+ (with 100 being league average), and has a DRS (defensive runs saved) of -6. So he has been ineffective on both sides of the ball.
Then there was this play from earlier this week that Collin McHugh was not a big fan of.
Carlos Gomez completely lost a fly ball and Collin McHugh's reaction is hilarious https://t.co/uOaNkFvuXa
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) August 9, 2016
McHugh’s reaction seems to say that he is tired of the shenanigans that Gomez provides, or at least he is tired of the poor defense behind him costing his team. It’s not outside of the realm of possibility that the entire Houston Astros 25-man roster feels the same way.
The move to designate Gomez looks to be one last effort to get this team back on the right track and make a potential playoff run as they find themselves four games back of the second wild card spot entering play tonight. To that point, Jake Marisnick figures to see more playing time in center, and while his wRC+ is just one point higher than Gomez’s at 59, the defense he provides in the outfield has been stellar, especially this season. Marisnick has a DRS of 16 in just 478.1 innings in the outfield, which is among the leaders among all positions in baseball.
With more consistent playing time, Marisnick’s bat could see an uptick in production, and as he proved last season, he can be an offensive spark plug at times.
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Whether or not this move will ultimately pan out for the struggling ‘Stros remains to be seen, but it appears as though it’s a move that had to be made for the team to improve their chances of competing in 2016.
Gomez will be a free agent after this season, and could potentially be looking at a deal like the one Cespedes received (no, not financially) but a short-term deal with an opt-out clause.