The story of Carlos Gomez and the Mets now has another chapter.
The Mets have selected the contract of Carlos Gomez and he will be promoted from Triple A Syracuse.
Gomez was once a top prospect in the Met organization, but was traded to the Twins in the Johan Santana deal following the 2007 season. Gomez almost returned to Queens in a 2015 trade deadline deal for Wilmer Flores and Zack Wheeler, but Sandy Alderson pulled out at the last second citing Gomez’ medicals.
The outfielder was informed last night after slugging his sixth Triple-A homerun of the year against the Louisville Bats.
Through 33 games with Syracuse, Gomez is hitting .267/.328/.467 with six homers, 19 RBIs, nine doubles and 28 strikeouts over 134 plate appearances.
The news comes on the heels of what was just an awful day to be a Met fan.
The Mets lost a game and ultimately a series to the Washington Nationals. In the series finale the Amazin’s fell a run short in a game where Anibal Sanchez only pitched an inning and a third.
So that’s more than seven innings of opportunities against the Washington bullpen and we still fell short. Oh, by the way, Jeff McNeil and Michael Conforto were removed from the game due to injuries.
The abdominal tightness which cut McNeil’s day short doesn’t sound too serious. The collision with Robinson Canó that knocked Conforto out (literally) will cost the outfielder a minimum of seven days on the Injured List.
The writing may be on the wall for Keon Broxton.
Gomez will replace Conforto while he is on the Injured List. An additional roster move will be needed when Steven Matz returns tomorrow. And obviously, another roster move will be necessary when Conforto returns.
So it remains to be seen if Gomez is here temporarily or if he will eventually replace Broxton.
Yesterday, for the second time this season, Broxton was the final out in a game where the Mets rallied in the bottom of the ninth. For the second time, Broxton swung through fastballs right down the middle in a hitters count.
Broxton was vocal after the game about his lack of playing time.
“From the start of the season, I’ve been surprised at why I haven’t been playing as much and why I haven’t got as many opportunities,” Broxton said after falling further into a 1-for-25 slump over his last 21 games. “It’s not like I started out bad. It’s just, it is what it is. They got a plan and they’re working with it. All I can do is just try to be ready.”
He has a point. I’m just surprised he said it out loud. He has no options, and would need to approve a trip to the minors. But does it make sense to bury him on the bench and give him one at bat a week?
With that being said, I’m very happy to give Gomez a shot during Conforto’s absence.
Welcome back, Carlos.