Reds sign Jonny Gomes

Gomes beats up on lefties: .266/.369/.510

The only real concern is health…oh, and defense. You know, he’s a perfect platoon partner to Chris Dickerson…hint hint.

Gomes hit .182/.282/.383 in 77 games for the Rays in 2008 (eight homers).

Those were by far the worst numbers of Gomes’ career, and he wasn’t even particularly effective against lefties, hitting .182 on either side of the plate last year. The Rays wound up sending Gomes to Triple-A in August, and although he was back up in September, he was left off the postseason roster. However, Gomes also had an absurdly low BABIP versus lefties (.172 in 114 PA), so one could realistically expect an upturn in 2009…He could still be useful against left-handed pitching in a part-time role.

and I hope he can stay around .300 for most of the season

Not a lot of risk there with the minor league deal, and dude can mash against lefties. Although, it’ll be interesting to see how he’s received in this town when he gets with the big league club, because we know what some Reds fans think about big left handed hitters who can’t play defense.

Gomes can be a righty power hitter off the bench, or provide depth in case of injury at Louisville. Nice little move, and it still doesn’t preclude them from getting another guy for left field.

I remember when everyone thought he was such a stud. And now he’s signed a minor league contract?

I like it. Why not? Maybe he’ll find his stroke again.

But prepare yourselves for the heartwarming stories about his heart attack at age 22 and his best friend who died in a car accident.

He was a staple of my MLB 2k7 team cause he was cheap and had a huge hitting circle, which we all know is the most important attribute for any player.

If anyone has any input I have to pick 3 pitchers and 3 hitters for a dynasty league, if this is uncouth please feel free to let me know… Anywhoo, the easy pick is Hanley Ramirez, and Im pretty positive on Lance Berkman, which leaves the rest of my field as Chipper Jones, Dunn, Abreu, and Bruce. My gut says Jones, but I don’t know if he’ll hold up. As for pitchers I have Lester, Danks, Maine, Price and Morrow. I respect yalls opinions and if someone could direct me to the right place to post this drivel I shall do so next time…or never again.

about players that will go to Cincinnati. There’s always someone posting that a player is can’t miss 40 homer guy in Cincy’s band box of a park. It only took a couple of comments to get to that Tampa posting on that link.

I also thought this move may happen. Is there anyone more predictable then the Reds? I mean some of us saw Taveras coming in Sept and though it was some what tongue in cheek it was semi serious.

Hopefully he does okay off the bench and provides some depth. I could even see him not sticking tho…

TODAY’S NOTES: The 45-player provisional rosters for the 2009 World Baseball Classic were announced tonight and included 17 players in the Reds organization and 8 players on the 40-man roster: 1B Joey Votto (Canada), RHP Francisco Cordero (Dominican Republic), RHP Johnny Cueto (DR), RHP Edinson Volquez (DR), C/IF/OF Wilkin Castillo (DR), OF Willy Taveras (DR),IF/OF Jerry Hairston Jr. (Mexico), C Ramon Hernandez (Venezuela)…also on the provisional rosters are 9 minor leaguers: RHP James Avery (Canada), RHP Kyle Lotzkar (Canada), LHP Philippe Alexandre Valiquetto (Canada), IF Yen-Wen Kuo (Chinese Taipei), LHP Luca Panerati (Italy), LHP Mateo Pizziconi(Italy), LHP Alexander Smit (The Netherlands), RHP Juan Carlos Sulbaran(The Netherlands) and RHP Luis Machuca (Panama)…final 28-player rosters for the 16-team international tournament will be announced February 24.

It kind of worries me that EV and Cueto are pitching in the Classic after throwing in the winter league. I mean Dusty isn’t exactly easy on arms.

Just wanted to comment on your team’s signing of Gomes, hope to give you guys a little more insight as to the type of player he is.

The biggest praise you’ll find amongst Rays fans is that he’s a good ‘team-guy’. He does everything he possibly can to contribute to the success of the team; he’s an excellent dugout cheerleader, and exhibits all of the other heart-hustle-blah blah stuff you’d expect from a player who has this kind of reputation.

Obviously, you guys seem to be aware of his defense (or lack thereof). There’s a possibility that he might be a better defender for you guys then the Rays. He takes some of the worst lines to fly-balls I’ve ever seen, it’s as if he needed a GPS in the outfield. He had laser eye surgery in the offseason to help correct his vision and he consistently complained about his difficulty tracking balls in Tropicana Field due to the akward positioning of the lights in the dome. He has decent arm strength but isn’t very accurate with his throws.

An admin over at DRaysBay last year did some research at the beginning of the season that showed that Gomes is much more effective at the plate when he sees regular playing time; much more then left-handed platoon duty.

Just as sample of what I mean, last year he was a member of a 3-man Platoon for RF playing time after Rocco Baldelli was diagnosed with his disease. From opening day until April 22nd, he hit .279/.385/.520 and played in 19 of 23 games. On April 22nd, the Rays picked up Gabe Gross because the RF platoon was too liable on defense and he became regulated to essentially a pinch-hitter off the bench, and literally fell off the planet. He’ll draw his fair share of walks but has a tendancy to strike out quite a bit.

His injury problems seem to stem from the idea that he’s too heavy for his frame. He’s rather muscle-bound and doesn’t have much flexibility, and I doubt he weighs in at his listed 225. If you can find a video of his swing, this becomes quite clear to see as he looks like he’s trying to club a seal instead of hit a baseball.

He could be a good pickup if he can manage to play even kinda-bad defense, because his capabilities at the plate with regular playing time could bring him to about average. But if he plays defense like I would expect, he’ll only frustrate you knowing that he’s got tons of power and can hit quite well, especially against lefties, but comes at the expense of downright wreched defense and ultimately hurts his team more than he helps them.

Like really? If someone took their team seriously they would sign a Manny or Pat or even Rocco, it doesnt matter, if you go and tell your fanbase your number one priority is a RH power bat, that you NEED a RH power bat you deliver that, and more than likely you take a weakness and make it a strength if you can.

We signed Johnny Gomes who “with regular playing time could bring him to about average” sounds like the Reds, who if they would have gotten a consistent RH power bat in LF they could be about average.

This is a move I would like if it was made early in the off-season, and I didnt get the feeling that this is our “solution” . This feels like C-Pat, not because he is the same player, but because the Reds are taking the same damn approach, sign as many bad players that could be good to let the competition find you a player during Spring Training.

At least sign Jones if your going to do this, because then you could have a chance of having a great player for cheap on a gamble instead of a gamble on the chance of having an about average player.

not because it is low-risk high reward and all that. But it is a pure insurance move by Walt. But not outfielder insurance, more of a roster insurance. Hows that? Cueto and Volquez won’t have second thoughts on pitching inside with Gomez ready to pounce, and Phillips won’t have to complain to the media about somebody’s dirty slide:
HERE’S JOHNNY!
(middle fist raised)

Here’s Jonny!

Who cares if he any good (it’d be bonus), but it is to have a man around the house from time to time.