We all spent a good part of the afternoon debating what the Rays might be thinking in deciding to keep Jonny Gomes on the active roster by sending Justin Ruggiano down to Durham. I wanted to use my forum here to give you my thoughts on Gomer specifically and generally what I think the Rays might do.
As it relates to Gomes specifically, I don’t want you to get me wrong. I love the guy. He plays the game hard and is an awful lot of fun to watch when he connects with one. The problem, of course, is that he goes through stretches where he looks like he’s swinging a wiffle bat at a ping-pong ball – kind of like the one he’s going through now. All we can truly judge him on is his performance – both individually and when compared to Justin Ruggiano. He’s hitting just .241 against left-handed pitching this year (hence his .219 total), and is going 20 at bats between home runs. Neither of those are numbers that make Gomes a viable candidate for starts against his supposed “strength” against left-handed pitching. And defensively? Let’s just say there’s a reason Gomes is considered a DH.
Justin Ruggiano, on the other hand, has played well (albeit in limited at bats) against left-handed pitching, going 7-for-22. He’s also been a more than adequate outfielder, admirably filling in well at all three positions. There’s certainly no argument that he is a superb defensive player to Gomes.
Why, then, would the Rays decide to keep Gomes on the active roster and send Ruggiano back to the minors? The simplest explanation might simply be that it’s easiest move to make. Gomes would need to pass through waivers to be sent to the minors, and the Rays might be reluctant to allow a player to go without making every effort to get something back for him.
Another more interesting theory was posed by A.J., who said:
Let’s face it, if he were to play regularly and struggle in Tampa, his value goes down the toilet. They obviously don’t want to take that chance right now. Although, I think he’s worth at least the opportunity. I do think they are planning on trading him in one of 2 deals that could occur-one for a pitcher, and one for a RF.
I’m not necessarily sure that a bad month or two in the big leagues kills Ruggiano, though. I totally agree, though, that he is included in lots of the team’s trade talks. He’s certainly talented enough to be tangled as part of a bigger package. He wouldn’t MAKE a deal, per se, but he certainly helps to sweeten one.
Personally, I think he’ll be in the lineup most of the time versus lefties by the end of the season and Gomes won’t be around anymore. The need to put together th eest possible team for a playoff run will outweigh the Rays’ need to try to squeeze every last bit of value out of Gomes. Just my two cents, though.
Tags: Jonny Gomes
June 24th, 2008 at 7:32 am
I, too, love Gomes’ hustle on the field, and his very charismatic personality. But at what cost is it to love that so much? Nobody doubts how hard he works, or his attitude towards winning, but we are at a point where we would be better off bringing up Ruggiano full time. I have been against it in the past because I felt Ruggy could use the AB’s at Durham, but Gomes is just not getting anything accomplished. As Scott said, one HR every 20 AB’s just does not count for much. There are guys at Low-A ball who could come up and do that. I think it would be best to just try to get what Milwaukee got for Gabe Gross in a deal for Gomes-a young, underachieving prospect with a little bit of upside. You don’t try to hold any teams hostage for Gomes, that’s for sure. If they offer you brand new batting practice balls, you should probably take the deal at this point.
June 24th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Just to clarify – 1 HR every 20 ABs isn’t inherently bad, but when POWER is all your game is about, you need to produce at a better clip than that.
June 24th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
RF and DH should be high production positions and Gomes currently cannot fill this requirement. There is no sign that he will 1) develop into a defensive fielding star, 2) become a prolific base stealer, or 3) greatly improve his BA or OBP. Given his streaky HR rate (current on negative streak)in which it is swing for the fences or bust, I would prefer Ruggy with 1) good defense and ability to play CF when needed, 2) smarter baserunner, and 3) more polished bat (BA, OBP, etc). Gomer might someday develop into a .240/30 HR guy for someone, but this is not the player the Rays need. Trade him for a low A ball player with some longterm potential.
June 25th, 2008 at 6:51 am
I agree with BillG on this. If we can get anything for him, let’s just do it. Ruggiano isn’t going to be any worse, and at least he can run and play solid defense. He probably won’t be a 30 HR guy ever in his career, but if he were to even hit .260 this year, he would be an upgrade over Gomes.