After homering twice on Saturday night against the Angels, Carlos Gomez had another productive day at the dish on Sunday afternoon, racking up a single and a walk over four plate appearances in a 3-2 loss.
Gomez, 30, was released by the Astros on August 18 with a .594 OPS, his worst offensive performance since his rookie season with the Mets in 2007 as a 21-year-old. He had five home runs and 29 RBI over 323 plate appearances. The Rangers signed him shortly thereafter to help fill the gap left by the injured Shin-Soo Choo.
Gomez’s impact was felt immediately as he drilled a three-run home run in his Rangers debut in the first inning on August 25 against the Indians. Counting Sunday’s performance, he’s hitting .236 /.344/.527 with four dingers and 12 RBI in 64 plate appearances. That’s not quite back to the All-Star level he was at in 2013 and ’14, but pretty close.
At season’s end, Gomez will become eligible for free agency. His late-season performance with the Rangers will help him procure a contract for 2017 whether with the Rangers or another team.