Gomes can help behind and at plate
less.
Jefferies mentioned a meeting with catcher Yan Gomes. “I knew I was rushing a little bit, had a little adrenaline going,” Jefferies said. “Yan came up to me and said, ‘Hey, your stuff ’s good, just take a bit more time between pitches and breathe a little bit.’ ”
Gomes, acquired in a trade from Washington on Friday, had not caught a pitch from Jefferies before Sunday. In fact, Gomes said, the two had “just met.” Jefferies’ pregame bullpen session and early innings offered Gomes a glimpse at his repertoire. It was enough to diagnose an issue.
“It was just a matter of sometimes when we were going glove side, the ball would run a little bit too much and you could tell he was speeding everything up a little bit,” Gomes said. “So just tell him his stuff ’s working really well, just take your time between pitches and stay within himself.”
It illustrated the A’s aim in acquiring Gomes, along with utilityman Josh Harrison, in their final deal before the trade
deadline. Gomes, in his 10th majorleague season, lends experience as the backup to Sean Murphy that the A’s had lacked. Murphy led three rookie catchers the A’s used in 2020 and Aramis Garcia, a rookie, was his primary backup in the first half this season.
Murphy has logged the thirdmost defensive innings among majorleague catchers through four months, exceeding expectations after he had offseason surgery for a collapsed lung. The A’s are cognizant of that workload. Manager Bob Melvin said having Gomes will allow the A’s to “take a little off Murph’s plate” and did not hesitate to pair him with Jefferies despite the unfamiliarity.
“I’m sure Murph would say the same thing” that Gomes did Sunday, Jefferies said. “But having a veteran guy behind the plate really calmed me down a little and we were able to make some good pitches, and he did a great job.”
Gomes has learned pitching staffs before, playing with Toronto, Cleveland and Washington since 2012, but the midseason trade was a first for him. Gomes, 34, said he did not expect to be traded until days before the deadline, when rumors linked him to Toronto and Oakland. He said it was overwhelming to be dealt across the country but exciting to join a playoff contender.
Melvin said the A’s sent Gomes a lot of video of their pitching staff right after the trade. A’s pitching compiled a strong July, combining for a 2.98 ERA, second lowest in the majors. Starting pitching has paced them, with the rotation posting a 3.62 ERA — third lowest among AL teams entering Monday.
Chris Bassitt, Sean Manaea and Cole Irvin are all in the top 10 of qualified AL starters in ERA and innings pitched, with Frankie Montas 10th in innings and 17th in ERA. Gomes played six seasons for Cleveland, working with staffs that finished in the top eight in ERA each season from 2015 through ’18 and led the majors in 2017 with a 3.30 mark. On Sunday, he offered a comparison.
“In a way, this staff reminds me a lot of what we had in Cleveland,” Gomes said. “It’s a lot of young guys with, like, tremendous potential and making a name for themselves. I’m excited to join them and help in any way I can. It’s fun to get to learn from them, and I’m also excited to learn from Murphy — Murphy is a great catcher as well. We’ve already started communicating about things.”
The A’s also saw in Gomes potential to boost their offense. Gomes was hitting .365 with a .667 slugging percentage against lefthanded pitching in Washington. Melvin indicated Gomes could draw a chunk of his starts against lefthanders. Sunday offered such a chance, and Gomes delivered a tworun homer against Angels lefty Reid Detmers as part of a fiverun third inning.
Gomes brings a further element that much of the A’s roster lacks: World Series experience. He has played in two, in 2016 for a Cleveland team that lost to the Cubs and on the Nationals’ 2019 team that beat the Astros in seven games.
“It’s definitely very humbling getting traded to a team like this,” Gomes said. “Them believing in me and that … I can help them. I’m definitely very honored to get traded over here. I’ve been on the other side against these guys, and this is a very exciting team to play. So I’m looking forward to these next couple of months and definitely going deep in the playoffs.”