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KC Royals: What Does Jonny Gomes Bring To The Team

By Leigh Oleszczak

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The KC Royals made yet another move and brought in outfielder Jonny Gomes on Monday night.

The Kansas City Royals have been making several moves since July, trading for both Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist. Now they’ve added yet another name through the trade market in Jonny Gomes.

Gomes has been in the majors for nearly 12 years now and has spent time with six different teams. Most recently, Gomes was playing left field and would occasionally serve as the designated hitter for the Atlanta Braves during interleague games in American League ballparks.

Gomes signed a one-year $5 million deal with the Braves last offseason.

Acquiring Gomes was a solid move for Dayton Moore and company. While Alex Gordon is expected to rejoin the team or has already joined the team for September and on, he likely won’t play in left field every day when he first returns and will need some days off.

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Yes, we all like Jarrod Dyson and Paulo Orlando, but both are mediocre hitters. Gomes is only hitting .221 this season with the Braves, but the guy has postseason experience and that’s huge for this Royals squad. Gomes has been to the postseason four times in the past five seasons, and will be a huge motivator for these Royals players.

He can also be plugged into the designated hitter spot should Eric Hosmer need a day off at first and Kendrys Morales having to take over there for a day.

This move makes even more sense now, after learning that both Kelvin Herrera and Alex Rios have been affected with chicken pox, and will miss at least two weeks according to Andy McCullough of The Kansas City Star. Rios being unavailable means that the Royals could use another outfielder, and there’s where Gomes comes into play.

Overall, this is a similar acquisition to the Zobrist deal last month. Some KC Royals fans might have been thinking it was a bit of a stretch to go and grab someone like Gomes, but hey. We can’t fault Dayton Moore come postseason time. The Royals have gone out and filled the holes on their roster, which shows that they’re in it for the long haul this season.

The Royals had some glaring weaknesses this season, but Moore has addressed them through free agency.

  • Lack of a true ace? Traded for Cueto.
  • Omar Infante and Alex Rios both struggling? Traded for Zobrist.
  • Backup for Gordon in case something goes awry? Traded for Gomes.

Sure, maybe the Royals didn’t necessarily need Jonny Gomes, but they have him now. Gomes’ past experience in the postseason will help out when it gets to that time, and the guy could be quite useful in games.

He’s sort of like a combination between two of the three designated hitters last season in Kansas City, in Raul Ibanez and Josh Willingham. He’s got the leadership aspect like Ibanez, and has the power that Willingham provided.

Overall, I think this was a decent trade for the Kansas City Royals. They got Gomes without having to surrender much (minor league shortstop Luis Valenzuela) and he’ll hopefully provide yet another boost for this team come October.

Next: What Miguel Almonte Could Bring to Royals

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