The Cardinals have outrighted Moises Gomez off their 40-man roster and assigned the outfielder to Triple-A Memphis, according to Gomez’s MLB.com profile page. St. Louis designated Gomez for assignment earlier this week, but he’ll remain in the organization after clearing waivers.
Gomez started his career in the Rays organization and joined the Cards as a minor league free agent prior to the 2022 season. At age 25 and after eight seasons of pro ball, Gomez has yet to make his Major League debut, which is perhaps in part due to the Cardinals’ glut of outfielders. On a team with less crowding in the outfield, Gomez would likely have gotten at least a cup of coffee in the Show after a huge 2022 season that saw him hit .294/.371/.624 with 39 homers over 501 plate appearances split between Double-A and Triple-A.
However, Gomez’s dream year was helped by a hugely inflated BABIP, and he still struck out in 174 of those 501 PA. The regression bug bit hard last year during a full season in Memphis, as Gomez hit only .232/.293/.457 in 567 PA. Gomez slightly cut back on the strikeouts and he hit 30 homers, but his walk rate also dropped.
The power potential is obvious here, though between the problems making contact and Gomez’s average-at-best corner outfield glove, it isn’t surprising that rival teams didn’t put in a waiver claim. Gomez will get more time at Triple-A to see if he can finally correct his approach at the plate, or at least cut back on the strikeouts enough to make himself a viable candidate for a call-up. St. Louis still has plenty of outfield options, though the list got slightly shorter when Tyler O’Neill was traded to the Red Sox earlier this winter.