PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Carlos Gomez is back with the Mets, 3 1/2 years after a trade fell through that would have sent him from Milwaukee to New York.
The outfielder agreed to a minor league contract and will report to big league spring training, the Mets said Thursday.
A two-time All-Star, the 33-year-old Gomez hit .208 with nine homers and 32 RBIs in 118 games last year for Tampa Bay. After striking out in Miami on July 4, he took three swings at a cooler in the dugout and punched another cooler, which sent cups flying over the dugout railing.
If added to the 40-man roster, Gomez would receive a $1.25 million salary while in the major leagues and have the chance to earn $250,000 in performance bonuses for plate appearances: $50,000 for 350 and for each additional 50 through 550. That represents a big cut from last year, when he had a $4 million base salary and earned $400,000 in bonuses.
Gomez signed with the Mets in 2002 and made his big league debut with New York in 2007. He was traded to Minnesota before the 2008 season in the deal that brought pitcher Johan Santana to New York and became an All-Star with Milwaukee in 2013 and 2014.
"A lot of good memories. I’m excited and anxious," he said.
Gomez said he only had offers for minor league deals and picked the team he thought had the best chance to win a title with.
He became part of Mets lore on July 29, 2015, when New York agreed to send Wilmer Flores and pitcher Zack Wheeler to Milwaukee for Gomez. Flores was at shortstop and Mets fans gave him a standing ovation after learning of the swap. TV cameras caught him crying while in the field in the eighth inning.
The trade was never completed, and two nights later Flores hit a game-ending 12th-inning home run off Washington’s Felipe Rivero. Flores remained a fan favourite in New York until he was cut by the Mets last November. He signed with Arizona in January.
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