It always amazes me how baseball GMs are willing to throw away multiple millions of dollars per year on a crappy middle infielder or no-name middle reliever, yet won't pony up the major league minimum for "sleeper" players with a lot of potential.
Let's take Jonny Gomes, for example.
This guy is a pure power hitter, and is 29 years old, which is the prime of most baseball careers.
In just 281 at-bats with the Reds last year, he crushed 20 home runs and batted .267.
Fluke? No. From 2005-2007, he hit 21, 20, and 17 home runs, respectively for Tampa Bay -- again with limited (350ish) at-bats.
Now, Gomes has his faults. He sucks in the outfield, and his lifetime batting average is under .250. But the guy has a lot of power and drives in runs, and he was showing a lot of life in the second half of 2009.
I wasn't expecting to see him ink a huge deal, but can you believe that not one MLB GM wanted to sign him? He couldn't get signed to a single club for the minimum.
Finally, he accepted a minor-league contract from the Reds, who promoted him after a good spring.
How's he doing this year? In 193 AB, he's hitting .306, with 9 HRs and is 4th in the NL with 48 RBIs. While the batting average is a surprise, the rest of the numbers aren't. If anything, he's actually hitting fewer home runs than expected.
I just don't get it. With all the offense-challenged teams out there, how does every single club overlook a guy like Gomes, who would have been thrilled to sign for the Major League minimum?
Can someone explain how this happens?
Let's take Jonny Gomes, for example.
This guy is a pure power hitter, and is 29 years old, which is the prime of most baseball careers.
In just 281 at-bats with the Reds last year, he crushed 20 home runs and batted .267.
Fluke? No. From 2005-2007, he hit 21, 20, and 17 home runs, respectively for Tampa Bay -- again with limited (350ish) at-bats.
Now, Gomes has his faults. He sucks in the outfield, and his lifetime batting average is under .250. But the guy has a lot of power and drives in runs, and he was showing a lot of life in the second half of 2009.
I wasn't expecting to see him ink a huge deal, but can you believe that not one MLB GM wanted to sign him? He couldn't get signed to a single club for the minimum.
Finally, he accepted a minor-league contract from the Reds, who promoted him after a good spring.
How's he doing this year? In 193 AB, he's hitting .306, with 9 HRs and is 4th in the NL with 48 RBIs. While the batting average is a surprise, the rest of the numbers aren't. If anything, he's actually hitting fewer home runs than expected.
I just don't get it. With all the offense-challenged teams out there, how does every single club overlook a guy like Gomes, who would have been thrilled to sign for the Major League minimum?
Can someone explain how this happens?
