| Yan Gomes | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Gomes with theWashington Nationals in 2020 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: (1987-07-19)July 19, 1987 (age 38) Mogi das Cruzes,São Paulo,Brazil | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 17, 2012, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 18, 2024, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .246 |
| Home runs | 137 |
| Runs batted in | 517 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Yan Gomes (/ˈjɑːnˈɡoʊmz/;Portuguese:[ˈjɐ̃ˈɡomis]; born July 19, 1987) is a Brazilian former professionalbaseballcatcher. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theToronto Blue Jays,Cleveland Indians,Washington Nationals,Oakland Athletics, andChicago Cubs.
The Blue Jays selected Gomes in the tenth round of the2009 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut in 2012, becoming thefirst Brazilian-born player in major league history. He played for the Blue Jays in 2012 and the Indians from 2013 to 2018. He was traded to the Nationals ahead of the 2019 season and won theWorld Series with Washington. He was traded to Oakland during the 2021 season and signed with the Cubs following that season. Chicago released him during the 2024 season.
Gomes was born inMogi das Cruzes, Brazil. His mother moved the family to the United States when he was 12 after she got a job in Florida, and his father is atennis instructor.[1] He was introduced tobaseball by aCubancoach his father met inSão Paulo.[2]
Gomes attendedMiami Southridge High School inMiami, Florida, where he played for the school's baseball team.[3] He enrolled at theUniversity of Tennessee, where he playedcollege baseball for theTennessee Volunteers in theSoutheastern Conference. At Tennessee, he started at everyinfield position exceptshortstop. He also spent a season asJ. P. Arencibia's backup at catcher.[2] After his first season with Tennessee, he was named anNCAA Division I FreshmanAll-American.[2] In 2007, he playedcollegiate summer baseball for theCotuit Kettleers of theCape Cod Baseball League and returned to the league in 2008 to play for theChatham A's.[4][5][6]
Gomes was drafted by theBoston Red Sox in the 39th round of the2008 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft, but he did not sign.[7] After playing two seasons with the Volunteers, Gomes transferred toBarry University, where he played for theBarry Buccaneers in theSunshine State Conference. He set school records with 92 runs batted in (RBI) and 172 total bases.[7] He was named to the All-South regional team,[8] and he was honored as the All-South player of the year and aDivision II All-American.[7][9]
After one season at Barry, theToronto Blue Jays drafted Gomes in the tenth round of the2009 MLB draft, and he signed on June 19 with an $85,000 signing bonus.[10][11] Gomes made his professional debut with theGulf Coast Blue Jays of theRookie-levelGulf Coast League that June. After one week, he was promoted to theAuburn Doubledays of theClass A Short SeasonNew York–Penn League. In 2010, he primarily played for theDunedin Blue Jays of theHigh-AFlorida State League, playing for one week with theLansing Lugnuts of theSingle-AMidwest League.[12][13] Gomes played most of the 2011 season with theNew Hampshire Fisher Cats of theDouble-AEastern League,[14] receiving a brief promotion to theLas Vegas 51s of theTriple-APacific Coast League for one week in July.[12] During his first three professional seasons, Gomes spent most of his time as a backupcatcher, but he soon began to receive playing time atfirst base andthird base as well, since he was behind top catching prospectTravis d'Arnaud in the Blue Jays' depth chart.[2]
Afterbatting .359 with five home runs and 22 RBI at the start of the 2012 season with Las Vegas, Gomes was promoted on May 17, as the Blue Jays optioned the strugglingAdam Lind to Las Vegas. In his MLB debut that night, Gomes became the first Brazilian player in MLB history.[15][16] He got his first MLB hit in his debut, singling offPhil Hughes of theNew York Yankees. On May 18, Gomes hit his first MLB home run on the first pitch off ofNew York Mets pitcherJon Niese in a 14–5 win. Gomes was optioned back to Las Vegas on May 27. He hit 5-for-22 with two home runs in eight games.[17][18] Gomes was recalled from Triple-A on June 5, with pitcherJesse Chavez being optioned to make room for him.[19] Gomes was sent back down to Triple-A on June 20 then was again recalled from Las Vegas on July 19. PitcherSam Dyson was optioned to Double-ANew Hampshire Fisher Cats to make room on the roster.[20] Gomes was optioned back to Las Vegas after an 11–2 loss to theTexas Rangers on August 19.[21][22] Gomes was recalled to the Blue Jays active roster on September 7 after the 51s' season ended.[23] He had a .204/.264/.367slash line in 43 games in his rookie season.[17]
On November 3, 2012, the Blue Jays traded Gomes andMike Avilés to theCleveland Indians for pitcherEsmil Rogers.[24] The Indians recalled Gomes from the Triple-AColumbus Clippers on April 9, 2013.[25] Gomes' first hit as an Indian was a two-run home run on April 13 against theChicago White Sox. He returned to Columbus on April 24 whenLou Marson came off thedisabled list. Gomes was brought back up on April 28 when Marson was returned to the disabled list.[26] On July 30, Gomes facedAndré Rienzo, the first Brazilian pitcher in MLB history. He finished 1-for-2 with a walk and a single off Rienzo. He made his postseason debut in theWild Card Game, batting 2-for-4 with a double as Cleveland lost to theTampa Bay Rays.[27]
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Gomes and the Indians agreed to a six-year, $23 million contract extension on March 31, 2014.[28] In 2014, he batted .278/.313/.472, winning theSilver Slugger Award forAmerican League catchers.[29] In 2015, he batted .231/.267/.391. In 2016, he batted .167/.201/.327. His .127 batting average against right-handers was the lowest of all MLB hitters with at least 140 plate appearances.[30] Gomes only postseason action was as a defensive replacement in fourWorld Series games. He went 0-for-4 as a backup toRoberto Pérez.[27]
On August 9, 2017, Gomes hit a walk-off three-run home run againstColorado Rockies in a 4–1 win, his second careerwalk-off home run in his career. In 2017 he batted .232/.309/.399.
Batting .251 with ten home runs and 31 RBIs, Gomes was named to the2018 MLB All-Star Game. He became the first Brazilian player to be featured in an All-Star Game in an American sports league.[31] In 2018, he batted .266/.313/.449.
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On November 30, 2018, Gomes was traded to theWashington Nationals for right-handed pitcherJefry Rodríguez, minor league outfielderDaniel Johnson, and aplayer to be named later, later announced asAndruw Monasterio.[32] In 2019, he batted .223/.316/.389 with 12 home runs and 43 RBIs, and won theWorld Series title, catching the final out of the series-clinching Game 7, which was aDaniel Hudsonstrikeout ofMichael Brantley.[33] The Nationals declined a club option for $9 million to keep Gomes for the2020 season, making him a free agent.[34]
On December 10, 2019, Gomes re-signed with Washington on a two-year, $10 million contract.[35][36] In the shortened 2020 season, Gomes batted .284/.319/.468 with 4 home runs and 13 RBIs in 30 games.
On July 30, 2021, Gomes was traded to theOakland Athletics along withJosh Harrison forDrew Millas, Richard Guasch, and Seth Shuman.[37] After having a .778on-base plus slugging (OPS) to start the year with Washington, Gomes cooled off, posting a .631 OPS with Oakland, which failed to makethe playoffs.[38]
On December 1, 2021, Gomes signed a two-year $13 million contract with a club option for 2024 with theChicago Cubs.[39] He played in 86 games in 2022, hitting .235/.260/.365 with eight home runs and 31 RBI. Gomes played in 116 games for Chicago in 2023, batting .267/.315/.408 with 10 home runs and 63 RBI.[38]
The Cubs exercised the $6 million option for Gomes for the 2024 season.[40] In 2024, Gomes played in 34 games and batted .154/.179/.242 with two home runs and seven RBI. On June 19, Gomes wasdesignated for assignment after the Cubs signedTomás Nido.[41][42] He was released by the Cubs on two days later.[43]
Gomes helped theBrazil national team qualify for its first-ever berth in theWorld Baseball Classic (WBC) by leading them out of the2013 WBC qualifying round. He was the only major leaguer on Brazil's team for the qualifiers and helped his team advance despite the other teams in the pool at the time boasting several major leaguers. He opted not to participate in the2013 WBC to focus on winning a spot on the Cleveland'sOpening Day roster.[44][45]
Gomes married Jenna Hammaker, daughter of former All-Star pitcherAtlee Hammaker, in 2012.[3] They have three children, a daughter born in 2014 and sons born in 2017 and 2021.[46] They reside inKnoxville, Tennessee.[47][48] Gomes is aChristian.[49]
