Is Jonny Gomes Running Out of Time in Atlanta?

During the offseason Atlanta Braves President of Baseball Operations John Hart brought in several veteran players to help in a Braves locker room that simply lacked leadership in 2014. While most of the free agent acquisitions have gone over well in Atlanta both on and off the field, one player continues to disappoint with his play in ball games. That would be platoon LF Jonny Gomes who is hitting .211 with a .285 on base percentage for the Braves this season. With Atlanta getting strong outfield play from Cameron Maybin and Nick Markakis, along with the return of Kelly Johnson and improvement of prospects Todd Cunningham and Joey Terdoslavich, are Jonny Gomes’ days with the Atlanta Braves numbered?

More from Atlanta Braves

Gomes came to Atlanta to help re-establish a culture of winning after last year’s disaster. He has played for winning teams in his long MLB career, Boston, Tampa Bay, Oakland, and Cincinnati to name a few. Jonny is normally a good fourth or fifth outfielder for a club because of his fearlessness for playing the game of baseball, his ability to hit left-handed pitching, and his military-based leadership style in the locker room. But I would have to say that Gomes’ 2015 campaign is behind at least four outfielders currently in the Braves organization (Maybin, Markakis, Johnson, Cunningham). Atlanta has great depth with its outfield and it can’t afford to have six OFers on its roster when the bullpen continues to struggle.

I’ll praise Gomes on how he plays the ball off the wall defensively, but many times it’s because he misreads batted balls off the bat and/or takes bad routes in trying to catch fly balls. His batting stance has so many components to it that his timing looks off most at bats. His constantly moving left leg reminds me of Dan Uggla. His inability to get around on a fastball reminds me of Melvin Upton, Jr. And he has more rituals in the batter’s box than Jason Heyward, almost a Nomar Garciaparra-type of pre-pitch preparation. It’s tough to watch because I’ve seen him hit well in the American League for so long.

Believe me I want Jonny Gomes to succeed here in Atlanta, but he’s simply running out of time. Maybin and Markakis are everyday starters, Kelly Johnson’s bat needs to stay in the Atlanta lineup, and Cunningham offers more as a switch-hitter and the best defensive outfielder in the Braves organization. What if Joey T hits over .350 in AAA Gwinnett the next three weeks or Phil Gosselin is ready to come back from a broken thumb? Where does that leave Jonny Gomes with his sub-.300 OBP? Likely DFA’d with the likes of Eric Young, Jr. now with AAA Gwinnett. If Gomes’ OBP is still sub-.300 by 4th of July Weekend, I can see Atlanta moving on from Jonny Gomes.

More from ATL All Day

Home/Atlanta Braves