Chris

Gomez

Gomez is considered day-to-day.

Gomez had his option declined by the Twins five weeks ago. “We’ve always liked Gomez,” GM Joe Garagiola Jr. said. “He’s an annual topic of discussion.”

The Jays are looking for someone to split time with Chris Woodward.

Gomez underwent an MRI, the results of which aren’t yet known. Twins manager Ron Gardenhire expects Gomez to miss a few days and seemed worried about him going on the disabled list. It’s a very poorly-timed injury, as it looked like Gomez was taking playing time away from Luis Rivas.

Gomez said Tuesday that he expects to return from the disabled list in about two weeks.

The Phillies made what seemed to be a shrewd move picking up Gomez, but if the veteran infielder has his heart set on playing for Baltimore, they could be nice and let him have his way. While Gomez was fair game after signing a minor league deal with Baltimore, the 34-year-old has earned the right to decide where he wants to play.

Baltimore should have waited another week to announce the signing. Now they’ll have to look for another reserve infielder. Gomez should join Tomas Perez in a utility role for the Phillies.

This is the best Gomez could do? He’s not quite as good defensively as he once was, but he’s still a pretty good reserve and more of an asset than either Neifi Perez or Juan Castro. Not only is he settling for a minor league deal, but he’s joining a team that’s probably never going to need him at shortstop. Brian Roberts and Melvin Mora also will rarely get days off if they stay healthy.

The Orioles just couldn’t risk a bidding war for the 34-year-old Gomez, who is batting .283/.351/.348 this season. In fairness, Gomez remains a pretty good utility infielder. Unfortunately, the Orioles have given him much of his playing time as a first baseman against left-handers and he’s not much of an asset in that role. Gomez will be getting an identical salary next year, although the contract does contain an extra $250,000 in bonuses. He is likely to end up earning $900,000 this year thanks to a $50,000 bonus for games played.