Spring Training 2010
Gomes in the fold
By C. Trent Rosecrans, CNATI.com Posted February 22, 2010 1:53 PM ET
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Jonny Gomes -- and his mohawk -- are in Goodyear.Gomes agreed to a contract Monday morning and will sign, pending his physical. Gomes drove from his Phoenix-area home to the complex, went to the clubhouse to greet his teammates and then take the physical.
The Reds will place Edinson Volquez on the 60-day disabled list later to make room for Gomes.
Gomes agreed to a one-year Major League contract with a team option, Walt Jocketty said.
Gomes, 29, played in 98 games for the Reds in 2009, hitting .267 with 20 home runs and 51 RBIs. Gomes was arbitration eligible, but the Reds declined to offer him arbitration in December.
"I can almost highlight and copy my quotes from last year," Gomes said. "Walt and Dusty grabbed me and took me in with open arms. Once I put a year in last year, I was really excited with the growth that the core of these guys took last year. It was exciting to see the young, core guys mature through the season and then the other guys Walt brought in. I'm very excited to be a Red, and from the outside looking in, it's a well put-together team for this year."
Gomes was looking for a big league deal and the Reds didn't come through with that until the last couple of weeks, he said.
Gomes will compete with Chris Dickerson, Chris Heisey, Wladimir Balentien and Laynce Nix for a spot in the outfield.
"After I met with Dusty (Baker) and the coaches after the season, we put together a list of things we wanted to improve on for this season, the last thing on the list we hadn't checked off was a right-handed power hitter,"Jocketty said. "I think Jonny definitely fills that role. There will definitely be a lot of competition for that spot in the outfield."
Categories: Cincinnati Reds, Featured Stories, Spring Training 2010, Video
Tags: Jonny Gomes
Comments (1)
Sweet Jesus, Please post a pic of the mohawk.
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