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Mauro Gomez Is On Nationals' 40-Man Roster; Headed To Hanshin Tigers?

The Washington Nationals claimed 1B/3B Mauro Gomez off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays in September. He is currently listed on the Nats' 40-Man roster. He is also reportedly headed the Hanshin Tigers. We investigate...

By Patrick Reddington
Jim Rogash

A Washington Nationals' press release on September 5, 2013 announced that the team had claimed corner infielder Mauro Gomez off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays. The 6'2'', 230 lb, 28-year-old right-handed hitting and throwing first/third baseman out of Bani, Peravia in the Dominican Republic debuted in the majors with Boston in 2012, playing 37 games and making 111 plate appearances for the Red Sox over which he was 28 for 102 (.275/.324/.422) with five doubles, two triples and two home runs.

Gomez was selected off waivers from the Red Sox by the Blue Jays in April 2013. With Toronto's Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo in 2013, the infielder/DH had a .249/.322/.521 line with 21 doubles and 29 HRs in 110 games and 453 PAs, tying Nats' shortstop prospect Zach Walters for the International League lead in home runs.

Gomez was named an International League Post Season All-Star after leading the Buffalo Bisons in RBIs, extra base hits and total bases. While at Triple-A in the Red Sox' system in 2012, Gomez was named the International League MVP after posting a .310/.371/.589 line and hitting 34 doubles and 24 HRs in 100 games and 426 PAs.

Gomez has been playing for the Leones del Escogido in the Liga de Beisbol Dominicano where he has a posted a .222/.269/.286 line with four doubles in 15 games as of November 4th. As of today, Gomez is listed on the Nationals' 40-Man roster at nationals.com.

Unrelated Nats News: Baseball America: 2014 Nats' Top 10 Prospects

As NPBTracker.com's Patrick Newman wrote on Twitter yesterday, however, citing a Sanspo report, the Hanshin Tigers reportedly have an "agreement in principle" to acquire the infielder:

An 11/5 Daily Sports' report is summarized at Yakubaka.com, where the article is translated into English:

"According to Daily Sports, discussions between the Tigers and the Washington Nationals for Mauro Gomez are going well. Assuming no bumps in negotiations, an announcement could be made some time later this month."

The Nationals cleared space on their 40-Man roster recently when they outrighted '06 1st Round pick Chris Marrero to Triple-A. The 25-year-old first baseman became a minor league free agent this week. The Nationals also added Steven Souza, Jr. to the 40-Man roster to protect him from selection in the Rule 5 Draft and reinstated Ross Detwiler and Christian Garcia from the 60-Day DL, which left them with 40 players on the 40-Man. A move with Gomez could open up a spot to protect another prospect. No word on any deal from the Nationals as of this morning...

The latest report from Yakubaka.com, citing a report from Nikkan Sports has the Tigers debating whether Gomez will play first or third. A Sanspo report cited in the article explains the situation:

"A team official told reporters on Wednesday that the Tigers were close to finalizing a deal for Gomez and that the only thing left was for the team to work out the final remaining details with the Washington Nationals."

More info when there is some...

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