Report: Jonny Gomes agrees to one-year contract with Atlanta Braves

Update:Mark Bowman of MLB.com has confirmed the initial report.

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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 Hartand his crew have reportedly agreed to a one-year contract with outfielderJonny 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 waslaid out in this space last week, but in short, Atlanta has a bunch of “spare parts”, headlined byTodd Cunningham, and two intriguing but unproven players in Dian Toscano andZoilo 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.

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