Report: Jonny Gomes agrees to one-year contract with Atlanta Braves
By Brad Rowland
Update: Mark Bowman of MLB.com has confirmed the initial report.
Confirmed @TBrownYahoo's report that the #Braves have signed Jonny Gomes to a one-year deal with a vesting option.
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) January 23, 2015
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The Atlanta Braves have been active in picking up veterans as potential starting options across the diamond, and it appears as if they have made another investment. This time, John Hart and his crew have reportedly agreed to a one-year contract with outfielder Jonny Gomes.
The 34-year-old Gomes would look to be an ideal platoon candidate in left field, as he has a reputation for mashing left-handed pitching. He is a career .244/.335/.442 hitter overall, but against left-handers, those numbers jump to .277/.376/.485, which is more than enough to justify his questionable defense at a corner outfield position.
Prior to the acquisition of Gomes, the Braves were short-handed in terms of left field options. The full issue was laid out in this space last week, but in short, Atlanta has a bunch of “spare parts”, headlined by Todd Cunningham, and two intriguing but unproven players in Dian Toscano and Zoilo Almonte.
At a minimum, Jonny Gomes is immediately one of the best bats on the roster against left-handed pitching, and that should be considered a win. The Atlanta Braves likely won’t field even a league-average offense this season, but Gomes helps them, and at the very worst, he would be a useful bench bat for a team that needs quality offensive options.