I was hoping they would get Grandal but I get that he would have been really expensive. That said I think there were other options out there (Lucroy for example) without having to give up prospects for Gomes.
honestly, when they had Suzuki signed, the right move would not have been to lock up more $$ in catcher. I have liked Gomes for years, but with Severino, S Kieboom, and Read in the system, that money could have been used elsewhere. I get that Suzuki too was a cratering candidate, but I think a deal for a glove-first C would always have been possible if Suzuki wasn't panning out.
Gomes had had a respectable 2018 (.266 / .313 / .449) but a lot of that was (some of you will hate this) due to a .336 BABIP, which was so far out of line with his career that I would think it would have been a red flag. Prior to that, he'd been awful in 2015-17. most of his value is in defense, and, like I said, veteran glove first Cs are a dime a dozen.
He's $8MM guaranteed ($7MM plus a $1MM buy out of his $9MM option for 2020). No way that money could not have been better spent.
