Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Nats acquire Gomes for 2 minor leaguers



Updated at 9:00 p.m.

The Nationals have acquired outfielder Jonny Gomes from the Reds in exchange for minor leaguers Bill Rhinehart and Chris Manno, a subtle move designed to add a veteran bat to their bench in advance of Sunday's trade deadline.

Gomes, 30, was hitting .211 with 11 homers, 31 RBI and a .336 on-base percentage in 77 games with Cincinnati this season. A career .244 hitter in parts of nine big-league seasons with the Reds and Rays, he could wind up serving as a right-handed platoon option in left field alongside Laynce Nix.

Gomes' 2011 salary is $1.75 million, but the Reds are covering some of the roughly $600,000 he's due the remainder of the year. He'll be a free agent at the end of the season, and he could qualify for "Type B"
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46 comments:

Cwj said...

I like it.

Anonymous said...

^ i agree.WHY? i hope he proves me wrong

dunbarbw said...

Because our OF depth consists of Werth, Bernadina, Nix, Ankiel and Hairston. Against LHP he's hitting.333/.439/.537. He'll platoon with Nix and Rizzo may resign him for next year. The reliever (key word being reliever) is in Low A and does anyone think Rhinehart was going to be a factor longterm?

Anonymous said...

Stairs now toast?

Stranded_in_Philly said...

Explain?

Eugene in Oregon said...

Anon @ 7:27:

One can only hope...

CBinDC said...

WHY WHY WHY ???????? does this make any sense at all please explain someone

Les in NC said...

I know the 40% of batters in the SAL that had to face Manno and could do nothing but strike out against him are happy to hear that. But I have to say that I am not.

Are more meaningful trades in the works? Why trade anyone if we only get a bench player?

NatinBeantown said...

Calm down folks. This is getting a minor value, and fills a need for the big club, in exchange for guys very unlikely to ever see DC. Are they worthless? No. But you don't get major league players for free. If Gomes fills the role we had hoped for Stairs, it's a nice pickup. If he makes Type B status, even better.

bdrube said...

Put me in the "no sense" group. Why trade away any minor league depth for a spare part? Guess this also means Nix isn't going anywhere.

JaneB said...

Really? Who do we DFA to accommodate someone with nit much better upside than Stairs? At least we didn't give up anybody real.

JaneB said...

I guess this means Stairs is gonna get traded.

Where are my Nats and what did Davey do to them?

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

The question may not be Why did Rizzo get this guy? so much as Why did Cincinnati need to get rid of him so cheap?
Funnier would have been if they'd taken Cutter Dykstra for him.

Mark L said...

The only way anyone likes this at all is if they are clueless about the Nats minor system.

In exchange for getting a complete mediocrity, the Nats gave up an unhittable closer and a power hitter with an OPS of .980!

To be honest, the Nats never really liked Rhinehart, they treated him like an organizational guy and he wouldn't cooperate by becoming a big time power hitter at Harrisburg.

Chris Manno was a big time prospect that should have been at Harrisburg for quite awhile.

And they get what, maybe a draft pick who at best would maybe produce as well as the 2 guys they gave up?

This is amateur hour!

SCNatsFan said...

The real question is what did Gomes do to upset management in Cinn to be banished to the Nats

Nats Outsider said...

Wow. Just what we need: Another outfielder who flirts with Mendoza. The scary part of this for me is that Rizzo and others in the Nats organization may feel they have now addressed the team's needs in the outfield. On to the next issue!!

And, SCNatsFan, what Gomes has done to upset Cincy's management is to hit .211. I can only think of one team that might consider that acceptable. Yep, that one.

Mark'd said...

Somethings up with Bernadina

dunbarbw said...

Woe is us! We traded a reliever doing well in Low A! Where will we ever find another!?

Seriously what is everyone's deal with relief pitchers? You guys on here act like they are as hard to find as a good hitting catcher.

Anonymous said...

Mark L, you are way off on your assessment of this situation. Manno is a 22 year old in low A. He is a relief pitcher and he was a 26th round selection. Rhinehart is 26 and SHOULD be dominating AA. Neither of those guys are big pieces to the future equation.

Gomes is a type B free agent at the end of the year. That means a sandwich round pick which should be greater than the 2 players lost in the deal.

If Gomes accepts then you have a cheap platoon option to limit Harper against tough lefties. Gomes absolutely murders left handed pitching. If he was good enough to be a part of a playoff contender the last couple seasons he is definitely good enough to be a power bat off the bench for us as we approach credibility.

sjm308 said...

Would you rather have Gomes, who at least can play a position or Stairs? The two players we let go were both favorites of the minor league fans but what kind of future does a 26 year old have who has not made it past AA? The relief pitcher has great numbers but they are at A level and he is 22. I think we have plenty of relief pitchers at higher levels so this young man was definitely blocked in our system and good luck to him with the reds. Again, we get rid of Stairs and maybe, just maybe Davey has that big hairy chested guy sitting next to him.

For what it is worth, the game tonight was dismal and DC Wonk never made an appearance in 308. We really are struggling right now and I honestly don't know how to fix it.

sjm308 said...

JaneB - stairs will not get traded, he will just be let go and Davey probably had nothing to do with this, this sounds like Rizzo all the way. If the numbers for Gomes facing left handers are factual then this is actually a steal. Folks, I realize both of these guys were fan favorites at the minor league level and yes both of those teams are now weakened with their loss but now someone else gets to fill those spots and maybe we find a diamond in the rough. We sure were not going to bring up Reinhart this year so that would have put a 27 year old at AAA at the best and what kind of future does he have with every position being blocked? He is not replacing Morse, or Harper or Werth. You can't use him so maybe we got the most that we could for him. We all know relievers have a short shelf life and Manno was super for Potomac but its low A people!
We got an established veteran who has been in playoff races for two players who will probably never see a major league field.

Scooter said...

Heck, Manno wasn't even at Potomac; he was at "low" A Hagerstown. And if memory serves, Bill Rhinehart has gotten Nats fans excited before but sort of stalled.

On the face of it, I like the trade. My only hesitation is, I remember what happened the last time a right-handed outfielder was stunned to be traded from Cincinnati to Washington.

sjm308, do you do day games? I'll be somewhere in the 300s on Thursday.

sjm308 said...

Scooter I love day games but I am going tomorrow as well as tonights game.I will be at the afternoon game on Aug 3rd vs the Braves sec 308 seats 1-5.
Man was this game a disappointment,am guessing that was all hashed out in another article but for the first time in a long time I left after the HRod homerun and did not see our 9th inning.

SonnyG10 said...

If they'll just let Stairs go, I think this can be a good deal. We really need another right handed pinch hitter off the bench, especially if Hairston is starting a game. There have been times when we've had nothing but left handed options to pinch hit. So we had to give up a couple of low level minor leaguers...big deal. They'll be replaced by the new crop of draftees.

Whatsanattau said...

Hairy chest? Can we get a picture?

Rime art? Meaningless.

Manna? An excellent minor league reliever in A ball, 3 years away at best.

Gomes 500+ at bats last year wit 20 + home runs.

Good trade for players who would never wear a MLB uniform.

(don't give me that "great prospect" rap. A minor league reliever prospect in A ball has such little exposure to pro hitters that it doesnt prove anything. )

Whatsanattau said...

Auto spell correction sux.

Rhinehart

Manno.

Scooter said...

Smashing, sjm. I'm at all the weekday daytime games this year. Looks like our tickets for the 3rd are in 310, so I'll be able to find you.

Seats 1-5, sounds like you like to stretch out. I like you more every day.

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

C'est plus la même chose, Scooter. Speaking of which, am I the only one to whom it did not occur that Mark L was serious?

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

that would be, in re: RH former Reds outfielders

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

Wassanatta, I thought "rime art" and "manna" were a little obscure, but interesting. FWIW.

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

Then again, nowadays "Exquisite Corpse" is a good zombie movie.

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

but I digress...



"undroit"

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

I don't pay so much attention as some, but I don't remember seeing anything from the hitting coach describing a philosophy of taking lots of first and third strikes. And yet, quite a bit of the lineup seems to be taking a first strike, and guessing with two (and guessing wrong about half the time, which is why guessing is deprecated, to begin with, probably). Or is that just me?

Scooter said...

Sec 3, My Sofa said...
C'est plus la même chose, Scooter.


Okay, I admit I may not know all them fancy words the kids use in the hip-hop these days, but I'm guessing what you said loosely translates as "Kearns stinks."

I about got it?

Scooter said...

And as to your latest, you failed to a) use the word "lost," b) refer to an opposing pitcher as "Cy _____", or c) call for Epstein to be DedFA.

Ten points from Hufflepuff.

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

Oh, and CBinDC, to answer the question:
"He'll be a free agent at the end of the season, and he could qualify for 'Type B'."

Sometimes a bird in the bush is worth two in the hand.

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

Ok, Cy-rano de Bergerac, Brian Epstein was Discipline For Artists.

And Beauxbatons Academy of Magic sniffs in the other direction from your Ufflepoof.

Soul Possession, PFB Sofa said...

I'd still be there if I hadn't gone out for the swim team.

Will said...

Let's just hope Gomes was as devastated to leave Cincinnati as he seems to say in the article. Then, we can offer him arbitration at the end of the season, he'll reject it, and the Nats can walk away with a compensatory sandwich pick, and all parties will be better off.

If he accepts, and I hope Rizzo did his research and knows he won't (or has a gentleman's agreement for him to reject it), then this is a completely and utterly stupid and nonsensical deal by Rizzo.

dale said...

This move gains us nothing for now, (come on, Rizzo, another one dimensional hitter, who really can't field that well either?), and we lose Manno, who was actually dominating at the level he played at. This move smacks of giving DJ a tool box kind of player, just so DJ can now have right handed outfielder other than Hairston. The Reds lose nobody and gain a chance for a good reliever, I would prefer their position in this trade.

Nats Outsider said...

sjm308 said, "For what it is worth, the game tonight was dismal and DC Wonk never made an appearance in 308."

Half right, sjm308. The game was incredibly dismal -- the worst I've seen all year. But DC Wonk was there, in front of the Union Pub beer stand, as advertised. So was I. Sorry I didn't get to shake hands with you.

natsfan1a said...

fwiw (which is not much), my reaction to the trade last night was similar to that of dunbarw, Beantown, sjm, and whattsa. (Well, not being an armchair GM type I didn't think of the type B angle.)

natsfan1a said...

What's a Hufflepuff?

NatsLady said...

I'm ok with it, FWIW. Sounds like a fun type guy, hard worker who might put a little spark in the team, which is looking pretty flat right now. I agree with the poster who said the turning point was blowing the 8-run lead in Chicago.

Gomes is most probably here for two months to shore up the outfield, maybe hit a few dingers, while Rizzo works on more long-term plans.

Anonymous said...

An absolute blockbuster of a deal. Should get the Nats one game closer to .500.

Anonymous said...

One other thought on this: Laynce Nix is just on the cusp of Type-B status.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/07/eli.html

So perhaps keeping Nix in a strict platoon with Gomes, with Hairston off the bench, so Nix only faces righties (.289/.326/.531) is enough to get him over the hump and make this a two-for-one comp. pick deal. The lack of real RH options off the bench means Nix has had just enough ABs against lefties this year to drag his OPS down by 50 points.

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