What About Jonny Gomes?

There has been a lot of talk recently on who the Rays should sign to DH next season. Carlos Beltran, Seth Smith and Jorge Posada have all been linked to the Rays in recent weeks. Of course, there are still talks that the Rays will re-sign their incumbent DH, Johnny Damon. One option that has not been talked about is Jonny Gomes.

The Rays are very familiar with Gomes after his six seasons with the team before he was let go in 2009. Gomes is still young at 31 and would probably fall right in the Rays price range after a rough year last year. One plus about Gomes is he can play the outfield, unlike Posada and Damon. As a righty he could spell Matt Joyce on some days against lefties or just give Joyce a day out of the outfield here and there.

Gomes is still a power bat, even though he struggled last year for the Nationals and Reds. He only hit .209 with 14 homers, but still not bad. He had a better year for the Reds in 2010, hitting .266 with 18 homers. He has the potential to put up 20 homers every year if given an every day opportunity, as shown with the Rays earlier in his career.

Jonny Gomes was always a fan favorite for his antics and could be a great fall back option for the Rays. He would give the Rays a good power  bat that they have been looking for and some flexibility that re-signing Johnny Damon cannot offer. Plus, he is younger than Damon and provides more pop at a lesser price. We will see if Gomes’ name comes up in rumors in the future, but I think the Rays would be silly not to at least consider Jonny.