Should The Houston Astros Trade For Carlos Gomez?
By Jimmy Price
Should The Houston Astros Trade For Carlos Gomez?
As we move into July and the trade deadline gets closer, the Houston Astros will be in middle of many rumors likely all month. Since the Astros are off to a hot start it is feasible they make a move to upgrade the current 25-man roster. They have been linked to be interested in multiple starting pitchers and possibly upgrades to the outfield.
Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle recently reported that the Astros have had scouts in Milwaukee and they’ve been eyeing the Astros sytsem as well.
"“The Astros had a top scout on hand in Milwaukee recently, and the Reds and Brewers have had eyes on Class AAA Fresno recently.”"
It appears the Astros could be scouting Kyle Lohse or Matt Garza but there is a chance they could be scouting other players which the Brewers may trade. One of these guys is Carlos Gomez.
Carlos Gomez
2015 Stats: 50 G, .279 BA/.319 OBP/.438 SLG, 15 2B, 3B, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 7 SB, 8 BB/47 K
While the numbers are down from last season, hia line projected over 162 games would be:
2015 162 game pace: 181 H, 48 2B, 3 3B, 16 HR, 84 RBI, 23 SB
I am sure most Astros fans would enjoy having that line in CF, especially considering the defense Gomez brings.
Why would the Astros trade for Gomez?
Even with the flow of talent the Astros have right now, being able to trade for a guy who posted 8.5 WAR in 2013 and 4.8 WAR in 2014 would be a welcomed addition. This season he has posted 1.3 WAR, even with all his injuries, which would be worth 4.2 WAR over 162 games. This is an All-Star caliber player and would have been second for position players on the Astros 2014 team. Even with his somewhat down season, he still has a 105 OPS+.
Now for the money; Gomez is under contract for this season and 2016. In 2016 he is slated to make $9 million, which is a steal given his production.
Why would the Brewers trade Gomez?
The Brewers have had a terrible 2015 going 29-48 to this point. At this point, they need to rebuild and get value for players when they can. The Brewers have the 19th best minor league system according to Baseball America, so it doesn’t really look like reinforcements are on the way. While Gomez’s value isn’t as high as last season, it will only go down next year since he won’t have any team control.
What would it take?
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At this point the Brewers could be looking for close-to-major league talent and maybe some high end lower talent similar to the Astros a few years ago. The Astros have multiple major league ready outfielders like Preston Tucker and Domingo Santana. They also have Jon Singleton who looks to be out of a position right now. Combine this with high-upside minor league pitching, the Astros and Brewers could strike a deal.
So my question is, would you make this move for Gomez? If he was acquired along with another pitcher would this vault the Astros to guaranteed favorites in the AL West?
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