Astros: Impact of Carlos Gomez to the Rangers

We should have seen this development coming for the Houston Astros.

The Houston Astros were unable to trade outfielder Carlos Gomez after designating him for assignment last week. The former Astro will now be heading just a few hundred miles up the I-45 corridor to join the Texas Rangers.

This news isn’t entirely surprising when you consider that the Rangers just lost outfielder Shin-Soo Choo for an indefinite length of time with a fractured forearm. After all, Gomez is an outfielder with the range to play center so it makes sense for Texas to take a flier on the former All-Star. There was a mutual need established between the two sides. Maybe the Rangers can discover a solution to Gomez’s woes, unlike the Astros.

This move also just feels so appropriate because it does come at the expense of the Astros.

I won’t bore you with the details but the Astros were pinning their hope that Gomez would help lead the team into the promise land in 2015 and 2016. That dream never became a reality as Gomez had a .670 and .594 OPS in parts of two seasons with Houston while the team has struggled at times. Sure, Mike Fiers was also acquired, but that trade with the Milwaukee Brewers did cost the team a couple of top prospects. So, yeah, the trade was already not a win from that standpoint.

Gomez signing with the Rangers though? This could be salt in the wound.

In short, the Astros have not been able to best the Rangers much last season or this season. This year the Astros are 2-11 against the Rangers with a .693 OPS for and a .775 OPS allowed. Just imagine if they are 7-6 or 6-7 against Texas. The whole AL West playoff picture would look different, or at least more interesting. The Astros are currently ten games back in the division so that extra four-to-five wins would’ve come in handy.

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If the Rangers can somehow muster quality baseball from Gomez over the next few months then it is definitely worth the risk. Even though their record is quite good (73-50), the Rangers outfield needs help. Outside of Ian Desmond (3.9 WAR) and Nomar Mazara (1.3 WAR), Texas has received little assistance from their remaining outfielders.

No doubt that Gomez is also looking to recover some value as he heads into the offseason as a free agent. And what better way to do that with a playoff contender while coming at the expense of the club that released you that happens to be in the same division? And the Astros are on the hook for the majority of his remaining 2016 salary. In all honesty, it is a smart decision on Gomez’s end.

Who knows, maybe this could be a move that thrusts the Rangers into World Series glory? Or not?There is no way of knowing right now, which is just like not knowing how Gomez will produce in Arlington. He could be a good addition or he could be more of the same like he was in Houston. But if he plays well then this would surely put even more egg on the Astros collective faces.

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I just hope for the Astros, and their fan’s sake, that it doesn’t play out in the way we are fearing today.

**Statistics provided by Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs**