The Washington Nationals have just bolstered their catcher position down after completing a trade with the Cleveland Indians to acquire Yan Gomes. The Nationals sent minor league outfielder Daniel Johnson to the Indians to complete this trade. After an update to the trade, it was confirmed that along with Johnson, the Indians are receiving Jefry Rodriguez in the trade as well as a player to be named later. Ken Rosenthal broke the news first, Jon Heyman supplemented it with the final details of the trade and who was sent back to the Indians.
Yan Gomes is being acquired by the #Nats. Gives them a nice catching combo with Suzuki. Minor League RF Daniel Johnson going the other way to #Indians . (sorry if you saw earlier that mentioned Michael Taylor; he’s not involved)
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 30, 2018
Gomes had a productive year in 2018 for the Indians, he posted a slash line of .266/.313/.449 hitting 16 home runs and 48 RBI’s. One of the more important facts to mention about Gomes is his defensive ability, he was fourth in the league for pitch framing which is something that a catcher can do to really provide his team with better defense. For Johnson, 2018 was spent with the Indians Double-A affiliate where he posted a slash line of .267/.321/.410 while stealing 21 bases.
Overall, the Indians have begun to sell off their assets in an attempt to rebuild along with other teams in the AL Central division. After trading for Josh Donaldson at the deadline in 2018, then losing him in free agency, the Indians have now moved Gomes, and are rumored to be possibly moving Corey Kluber and/or Carlos Carrasco.
