The Boston Red Sox agreed to a contract with an outfielder today, but the name isn't one that many thought would be on their radar: Jonny Gomes, a key part of the Oakland Athletics' AL West run last season. Gomes is getting a two year deal, and will make $10 million over the two seasons he's under contract.
Gomes, who will turn 32 on Thursday, is an odd fit for the Red Sox in that he has massive platoon splits and isn't an every day player. In 2012 with the A's, Gomes had a .974 OPS in 196 plate appearances against left-handers, and just a .715 OPS in 137 plate appearances against right-handers, a split that has been prevalent throughout his career. The Red Sox already have Ryan Sweeney, Daniel Nava, and Ryan Kalish on their roster, and all three have severe platoon splits, meaning that the Red Sox could take an approach similar to that the A's did in 2012 by collecting several outfielders and simply just trying to find the best platoons to go with entering the season.
$10 million is a lot over two years for a platoon outfielder. The Red Sox could have spent $6 million more over the two years and gotten a better deal with Melky Cabrera. The market is getting set for corner outfielders, and Boston free agent Cody Ross has to be salivating when he looks at the contracts signed by Gomes and Torii Hunter.
