Catcher Yan Gomes has made a big commitment to the Cleveland Indians.
On Monday he finalized the deal and signed a $23 million six-year contract with the team. He said that he felt confident that their turnaround in the 2013 season would carry over to future seasons and he wanted to be a part of that.
“It goes into what it means to be in this organization,” Gomes said. “You’ve got younger guys like ourselves just wanting to be here. We’re potentially signing a big amount of our careers. There’s not another place I would want to be with, especially from the top to the bottom here. It’s the organization you want to be with.”
The Cleveland Indians are just as excited as Gomes to have him coming on full time with their team. They saw a little bit of what Gomes could do during the 2013 season, and are anxious to see what the future holds. Last season, Gomes hit .294 with 11 home runs, 18 doubles, and 38 RBIs in 88 games.
“He showed us that he’s worth this contract,” Terry Francona, Cleveland Indians manager, said. “That’s how much faith we have in him. That’s pretty amazing for a young kid with that kind of track record, or lack of track record, for us to buy in that much. That’s a pretty big compliment to him.”
There are only 3 days until the Home Opener and we can’t wait to be back in #TribeTown! I want to help one lucky fan be there for it!
— Yan Gomes (@Yan_AGomes) April 1, 2014
Gomes joined the Cleveland Indians after he was traded from the Blue Jays for pitcher Esmil Rogers in November 2012. “This is the organization I want to be with, that actually made it pretty easy,” Gomes said. “I’m so thankful for that. My wife and I are excited to be Cleveland Indians for a while now. … We got a little taste of the postseason last year. That’s what we play for.”
Congrats to Yan on his new deal. Easy guy for us to believe in: tough, tireless worker, good teammate + competitor. pic.twitter.com/dxzUBqtuYJ
— Mark Shapiro (@MarkShapiro) April 1, 2014
Image via Twitter