Could a return to the NL Central be in the cards for Carlos Gomez?
According to a report by Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Thursday, the Cardinals will explore the situation of the exiled Astros outfielder to see if he might be a good fit for them.
#Cardinals will explore Carlos Gomez's situation and whether he's a fit, can help. No indication they'll make a play https://t.co/AX9VNbk3pt
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) August 12, 2016
Mark Saxon of ESPN confirmed the Cardinals’ trade interest in Gomez on Friday but added that a trade must be completed by next Thursday and that St. Louis could be outbid by the New York Mets.
The #Cardinals are indeed looking into trading for Carlos Gomez, as @dgoold said. Ability to play CF big. Might get outbid by the #Mets
— Mark Saxon (@markasaxon) August 12, 2016
A trade for Gomez must be completed by next Thursday or he will be a free agent, but he's expected to be traded
— Mark Saxon (@markasaxon) August 12, 2016
The 30-year-old Gomez was designated for assignment by the Astros on Wednesday. He is hitting just .210/.272/.322 on the season and has looked like the human incarnation of a power outage.
Gomez is making $9 million in 2016, the final year of his current contract. The Cardinals have a need in the outfield after Matt Holliday suffered a broken thumb on a hit-by-pitch Thursday. But fending off the Mets, who had an agreed-upon deal for Gomez fall apart at last year’s trade deadline, could prove to be no easy task.
