Rangers: Carlos Gomez to Start in Left Field, Fantasy Impact
By Bill Pivetz
The Rangers have dealt with injuries to their outfielders all season. Despite his struggles, the team signed Carlos Gomez to start in left field.
The Texas Rangers are doing everything they can to hold onto the American League West lead. They are currently 5.5 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners, but that could quickly go away and the front office knows that. Just look at the moves they made at the trade deadline. However, that wasn’t enough.
The team announced Saturday that they will be bringing in former Houston Astros outfielder Carlos Gomez. The next day, manager Jeff Banister revealed Sunday that Gomez will be the Rangers’ everyday left fielder, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweeted.
The Rangers have had many injuries to their outfielders. Shin-Soo Choo is on, I believe, his fourth DL stint. Joey Gallo is called up and sent down every other week and Josh Hamilton hasn’t seen the field this season. Even with his struggles, what does the Gomez signing mean for the other outfielders?
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Over the last week, the Rangers have used a variety of defensive alignments in the outfield. Ian Desmond is in center field. Carlos Beltran, Ryan Rua, Nomar Mazara and Drew Stubbs have all started in right field. Jurickson Profar and Delino DeShields are platooning in left field, keeping it warm for Gomez.
For someone who was a fifth-round pick, Gomez disappointed a lot of fantasy owners. He hit .210/.273/.322 with five home runs, 29 RBI, 27 runs scored and 13 steals. Before getting released, he hit his last home run on July 17. Over the last 15 days, Beltran and Mazara are the only Rangers outfielders with a home run.
"“We signed him with the hope that he can help us in the big leagues,” Daniels told Wilson. “Probably sooner than later given where we are on the calendar. We want to take a look at it before too much time passes.”"
The Rangers will probably be better off without Gomez, but I can’t change the fact that he signed. He will likely debut this weekend. This puts Profar and DeShields out of a job, both of whom are better than Gomez.
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I do not recommend adding Gomez to your team, unless he completey turns it around and hits .400 with a couple of home runs in his first week. The Rangers made a questionable decision here, but you shouldn’t have to follow in their footsteps. Profar could get some playing time in the infield when those guys get rest, but that’s the best case scenario.