Carlos Gomez to Tampa Bay on 1 year deal

Free agent outfielder Carlos Gomez and the Tampa Bay Rays have reportedly agreed on a one year deal for $4 million plus incentives. Gomez was the Rangers’ center fielder in 2017, and had expressed interest in returning to Texas for 2018, going so far as to charter a helicopter to visit with the Rangers’ brass when they were in the Dominican Republic.

I’ve got to say, if the Rangers weren’t interested in Gomez at $4 million, then I have to assume they aren’t interested in adding a center fielder, and the plan is to let Delino DeShields sink or swim with the center field job, with some combination of Willie Calhoun, Ryan Rua and Drew Robinson handling left field. I’m not terribly enthused about that decision, but hopefully, DeShields & Co. will prove me wrong in 2018.