The Cleveland Guardians made a trade on Thursday.
No, it wasn’t to get help in the outfield.
Rather, they acquired a left-handed pitcher from the New York Mets in exchange for international bonus pool money.
The new southpaw is Franklin Gomez, a 20-year old from Venezuela, announced the team.
Gomez signed with the Mets when he was 16 and has moved as high as High-A on the minor league ladder.
He has been very effective in his minor league career overall, putting up a 3.39 ERA with 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings.
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He split the 2025 season between Single-A St. Lucie and High-A Brooklyn.
At the lesser level in St. Lucie, Gomez had a 1.85 ERA.
Once up at Brooklyn, his ERA rose to 4.70, although he did continue to strike out more than a batter an inning.
The Guardians are one of those organizations that you keep an eye on when they’re acquiring pitchers. They have a history of bringing on board unheralded arms and turning them into useful pieces.
Maybe Gomez will be the next one.
He won’t solve Cleveland’s outfield hitting problems this side of Steven Kwan, but he’s got some potential.
