NY Mets sign hard-throwing righty pitching well in the Dominican Winter League

An hour doesn’t seem to pass by without the New York Mets adding someone to a minor league deal. It can’t hurt, can it? On Tuesday evening, Mike Mayer reported they’ll add hard-throwing Ofreidy Gomez whose 2.77 ERA and 15.2 K/9 in this year’s Dominican Winter League lead the reasons why they may have had some interest.

Beyond the statistics, we can see the other important number. Hitting 99mph, even in an age where more pitchers than ever can throw hard, can pique interest. The Mets have been all over multiple hard-throwing players in the past two years under the David Stearns regime. They’re buying into what Gomez is doing this winter,

Is Ofreidy Gomez the real deal or another Mets minor league signing who’ll flame out?

At 30-years-old with no MLB experience and an 8.18 ERA in 77 innings in Triple-A, Gomez has a long way to go before he’s even considered a solution for the Mets in any role. Syracuse hasn’t been an easy place for many pitchers to take the mound.

Control was his biggest issue in Triple-A, walking batters at a rate of 8.8 per 9. He has been far better in foreign leagues, dropping the walks to 4.6 per 9. Still high, it’s not as disastrous as what he posted one level below the majors in past years.

Gomez has pitched well but hasn’t dominated while pitching in Mexico. He had a 4.70 ERA this past year in 46 innings of work.

The signing has some shades of last offseason’s Alex Carrillo deal. However, he came out of the Mexican Independent League with two seasons with an ERA below 4.00. Control issues himself with big strikeout totals, he ended up giving up a run in each of his three appearances for the Mets, including the loss in the first game of the second-half.

As long as the Mets are wise with their use of Gomez and don’t elevate him too soon or use him irrationally, we can accept them giving him the opportunity to blow pitches by minor league hitters and maybe win them a game. At minimum, maybe he’s the hero who wears the cape by pitching three innings in a blowout to save the rest of the staff.