Nationals acquire veteran outfielder from Reds
The Nationals made their first move of the 2011 Major League Baseball trading season by acquiring veteran outfielder Jonny Gomes from the Cincinnati Reds for two minor leaguers — left-hander Chris Manno and outfielder Bill Rhinehart — and cash considerations.
Gomes, 30, is excellent against left-handed pitching with a career .281 batting average and an .886 OPS. He will be added to the 40-man roster on Wednesday with a corresponding move to come then, according to Washington general manager Mike Rizzo. The trade deadline is July 31.
The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Gomes is a similar player to Nats outfielder Laynce Nix, a left-handed batter who has become the de facto starter in left field thanks to a fine season at the plate. But he is also hampered by a chronic sore Achilles tendon. Gomes, a right-handed batter, has topped 20 home runs in a season three times since 2005 despite receiving over 400 at-bats just once.
“[Gomes is] a power guy, he’ll get on base and take his walks,” Rizzo said. “He can get on base and he can drive in runs and most importantly he can change the game with one swing of the bat.”
| Marlins 11, Nats 2 |
| Washington returned to Nationals Park for the first time since July 10 and lost to the Florida Marlins 11-2. The Nats (49-53) have now dropped seven of their 10 games since the All-Star break. They also fell into last place in the National League East as Florida (50-53) hopped them in the standings. Laynce Nix broke up a no-hitter by Marlins starter Ricky Nolasco with a solo home run in the fifth inning. Michael Morse added an RBI double in the sixth. |
| UP NEXT |
| Marlins at Nationals |
| Javier Vasquez (6-9) vs. Livan Hernandez (5-9) |
| When » Wednesday, 7:05 p.m. |
| Where » Nationals Park |
| TV » MASN2 |
But Gomes has struggled this season. He was hitting .211 with the Reds and had a .735 OPS. He started 51 games for Cincinnati in left field and appeared in 77. This is a move to fortify the bench, according to Rizzo, which puts the status of pinch hitter Matt Stairs in question. Stairs, 43, is now 10-for-56 with a .154 batting average in his pinch-hitting role.
“I’m bitter about leaving because I really love these guys,” Gomes told reporters in Cincinnati on Tuesday evening. “I love where this team is at. I love where they’re about to go. But of course, as we see right now, it’s a business. On the other token, a team reached out and wanted my services. I take that as a compliment as well.”
Rhinehart, 26, had 21 home runs for Double-A Harrisburg in 2011. He was an 11th round draft pick in 2007, had a hot start to his career and then fell off in 2009. Rhinehart dropped back to Single-A Potomac for most of 2010, regrouped and then excelled this season back at Harrisburg. He had a .983 OPS for the Senators. Manno, meanwhile, has 12 saves in 34 appearances at low-A Hagerstown as the team’s closer.
“We’re in it to win. We’d like to win every game and [Gomes] gives us an added boost off the bench,” Rizzo said, also noting Gomes is worth a compensation draft pick if he doesn’t re-sign with the club following the season. “And really that’s what you draft players for — either for them to perform in the big leagues for you to utilize in a trade to help the team.”
