Jonny Gomes and the sun-shiny Tampa Bay Rays avoided arbitration Thursday, coming to terms on a one-year, $1,275,000 contract that triples his salary from last season. The 27-year-old outfielder and designated hitter earned $407,800 in 2007 while hitting 16 homers and 44 RBIs in 81 of the Rays' last 99 games.At the beginning of the season, Gomes was batting .184 and was promptly sent to the minors on May 28th. He bounced back with the AAA Durham Bulls however, batting .244 with 17 longballs and 49 RBIs.
He is expected to share DH opportunities and right field patrol with Cliff Floyd and Rocco Baldelli. And here's a fun fact: Gomes' 58 homers the past three seasons are the most by any Tampa Bay player.
In other Rays news, the club traded lefty Jeff Ridgeway to the Atlanta Braves for troubled infielder Willy Aybar Thursday evening. Read more on this over at the sweet MVN blog, Rays Anatomy.
[USA Today]
2 comments:
Guys hit better in the minors because it's barely a challenge. It's when they slump in the minors that you need to get worried.
I second that, anonymous. But I think it also helps them improve their patience and timing at the plate, their defense, etc. When they're playing among less-talented and therefore less-challenging players, it's more or less like practice.
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