Houston Astros: How the Carlos Gomez injury could be good for Astros.

Carlos Gomez has had a tough run with the Houston Astros in the early going of his tenure with the team. After the trade to the Astros, Gomez seemed to be pressing at the plate to make an impact with his new team. He said that the Astros made him feel special, but meanwhile he was having a hard time swinging the lumber and made a few defensive errors. He was trying to force the action versus letting the action happen as he has done his entire career. It didn’t help on who he was traded for, including mega prospect Brett Phillips and left-handed pitcher Josh Hader along with Domingo Santana and Adrian Houser.

Pressing with the Astros

Gomez was feeling the pressure to perform, and then he went on a hitting streak, and the most amazing thing happened, he appeared to have regained his confidence. In the last 28 days, Gomez had a .304/ .365/ .518/ .883 slash line with two homers and five runs batted in. While that may not seem overly impressive, you have to consider that he has missed every game since September 12th, and he got off to that horrendous start with the Astros. His slash line as an Astros has been .234/ .282/ .379/ .661, which is lower than his career .259/ .314/ .418/ .732 slash line.

Gomez was in the middle of a hot stretch of games when he suffered an intercostal strain during optional batting practice prior to a Sunday game. He went to Houston to get examined, and it was determined that it was not a serious strain. However, he has not returned to the lineup yet. While there appears to be concern over how much he can contribute down the stretch or in the playoffs, his injury is not overly all bad.

Marisnick gets to swoon

If Gomez is coming back at some point, the playing time and success that Jake Marisnick has received can help down the stretch to get him hot again. Marisnick suffered through a two month plus rough stretch, where people were questioning whether he deserves to make a potential playoff roster. However, with the extended playing time, Marisnick has broken out in a big time way. In the past 28 days, Marisnick has a slash line of .306/ .340/ .510/ .850 with three homers and ten runs batted in. The playing time will help in pinch-hit performances down the road. In addition to Marisnick, other players get valuable playing time.

Gomez gets time to reflect

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Overall, this has not been a normal Gomez type of season, which is why the Astros were able to pry him away from the Brewers. If he was having a similar season like he has had in the past, the Brewers might have played better and would not have traded him. He has shown flashes of his former self at times, so maybe the time to reflect on his struggles will help him perform better down the road. Plus, Gomez is an all-out type of player, so getting the time to rest could give him the energy to Go Go down the stretch.

When reflecting on the trade in the future, it could be viewed as a wasted trade. The good news is that the Astros also got Mike Fiers in that trade, who has already thrown a no-hitter. Hopefully, Gomez can give it a go in the lineup soon, because the Astros could use his presence in the batting order. The Astros are trying to overtake the Rangers while holding onto the wild-card slot, they could use the help in the offense.

According to Rome in the above Tweet, he is doubtful for the Rangers series.

Next: The Houston Astros Keys to their Postseason Run