Houston Astros Need A Carlos Gomez Bounce-Back Year
By Yoni Pollak
When the Houston Astros acquired Carlos Gomez (along with Mike Fiers) in late July, GM Jeff Luhnow expected Gomez to provide a different boost to an already powerful lineup.
The Astros had the pop, but struggle when it comes to putting balls in play, especially in big situations.
As a team, Houston mashed 230 home runs last year, two shy of the league-leading Toronto Blue Jays. However, the team collectively hit just .250 which was 21st in baseball. That’s where Carlos Gomez comes in.
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With the moves made this offseason, it appears as if the Astros will pretty much be bringing the band back together. There will be no Chris Carter, but everyone else will likely remain the same, barring any future trades or unexpected free agent signings. If that’s the case, the Astros hope to get 2013 and 2014 Gomez, rather than last year’s Gomez.
Gomez, 30, had a spectacular ’13 and ’14 where he hit .284 in both seasons, smacked 47 home runs combined, and had an OPS of .844 and .833 respectively. That’s the Gomez the Astros envisioned acquiring, rather than the Gomez that hit just .255 with a .723 OPS over the full 2015 season. Much of his regression was due to different injuries, but it’s a fair concern for Astros fans.
However, when Gomez did look healthier in late August and early September, his numbers took a positive turn. Since the famous August 25th game against the Yankees where Gomez pimped a home run which angered some Yankees players, he hit .318 (21-of-66) and that included a big stretch of time where he played through an intercostal strain he suffered in mid-September.
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Gomez has been plagued by injuries in the past, so labeling him injury-prone is reasonable, but I am also willing to bet that we see the Gomez from a few years ago next year, rather than last year’s Gomez.
The Astros already have enough hitters that can barely hit the .250 mark. Houston’s lineup needs a guy that will hit .275 and get on base for the big-boppers in the lineup. For every Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and George Springer who get on base at a high(er) clip, there’s also a Colby Rasmus, Luis Valbuena, Evan Gattis and whoever plays first base that doesn’t hit the .250 mark.
Getting back the ’13 and ’14 Carlos Gomez would be huge for an Astros offense that struggled at times to put together big innings or get the clutch hit.
At this point, if healthy, I’d say odds are that we do see Gomez have a similar performance to those two seasons as he joins a more vaunted lineup in Houston than that of the one he had in Milwaukee.
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