No matter how great the thrill of winning a championship might be, sports are a business. Reserve outfielder Jonny Gomes found that out the hard way on Thursday as the Kansas City Royals announced they have declined their club option on the veteran, making him a free agent.
According to Spotrac.com, the option was for one year worth $4 million.
Gomes played just 12 games with the Royals, none during their postseason run to their first World Series title in 30 years. He was traded to Kansas City from the Atlanta Braves at the beginning of September as the Royals became his fourth team in the past two seasons.
While his play was limited during his time in Kansas City, he’ll be best remembered for his speech during the team’s World Series parade, per ESPN:
The Kansas City Star‘s Andy McCullough has an idea for Gomes now that he is a free agent:
At 34 years old, Gomes holds a .242 career batting average with 162 home runs in 13 seasons and also won a World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2013. While his numbers have never jumped off of the page, he has been a veteran presence on winning teams over the past few seasons.
He indeed made his presence felt during this Royals World Series run. Christian Colon, the player who delivered the game-winning hit in Game 5 against the New York Mets, spoke about Gomes’ impact to Fox Sports’ Erin Andrews (h/t Pat Bradley of NESN.com).
“Jonny Gomes, he was just taking me under his wing, letting me know what I needed to do in certain situations,” Colon said. “That’s why you bring a guy over (in a trade).”
For many teams, that is the kind of player they wouldn’t mind having on their roster. Expect organizations with a plethora of young players, especially in the outfield, to make a move for Gomes and bring him on to help guide them in the big leagues.
Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.
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