Brandon Gomes (born July 15, 1984) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and current baseball executive. He played for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) from 2011 to 2015. After his playing career ended, Gomes joined the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

as a pitching coordinator. He was successively promoted to director of player development in 2017, an assistant general manager in 2019, and general manager in 2022.

Amateur career

Born and raised in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

, Gomes attended Durfee High School. At Durfee, Gomes pitched and also played

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

, hitting .425 with 14 home runs and 83 RBIs while also compiling a record of 19–5 with a 1.66 ERA and 287 strikeouts. Gomes, who was also a member of the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

, was Massachusetts High School Gatorade Player of the Year and also won All-State honors twice. After high school, Gomes attended

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

. After having a successful freshman season, Gomes had

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

during his sophomore year, receiving a medical redshirt. As a redshirt sophomore, Gomes continued to work out of both the bullpen and starting rotation, but later became a full-time starter as a junior. As a senior, Gomes improved, going 7–6 with a 3.92 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 96.1 innings. In 2003 and 2006, Gomes played for the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

, going 2–2 with a 3.62 ERA for the team in 2006.

Professional playing career

San Diego Padres

Gomes was selected by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

in the seventeenth round (537th overall) of the

2007 MLB draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the fi ...

out of

. Gomes is of Portuguese and Italian heritage.

Tampa Bay Rays

In December 2010 Gomes was traded to The

along with

Adam Russell Adam William Russell (born April 14, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres, and Tampa Bay Rays. Amateur career College Russell was drafted by t ...

, Cesar Ramos and

Cole Figueroa Stephen Coleman Figueroa (born June 30, 1987) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) infielder who played for the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates between 2014 and 2016. He currently works in the Tampa Bay Rays ...

in exchange for Jason Bartlett and a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

. Gomes made his major league debut on May 3, 2011.

Chicago Cubs

On December 23, 2015, Gomes signed a minor league deal with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. He was released on June 4, 2016.

Pitching style

Gomes threw three pitches: a

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest (i.e., fastest) ball thrown by a pitcher. It is c ...

(90-92 mph), a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

(78-82), and a splitter (81-86). The curveball was primarily used against right-handed hitters, while left-handed hitters saw more of the splitter.

Baseball coach and executive

Los Angeles Dodgers organization

After his release from the Cubs, he joined the

organization as pitching coordinator of performance, part of the player development department. On December 1, 2017, he was promoted to director of player development. Gomes was promoted to vice president and assistant general manager on March 17, 2019. On January 18, 2022, the Dodgers promoted Gomes to the position of general manager. Gomes cited his experience as an average player subject to several transactions throughout his career as instrumental to increasing his interest about the work of baseball executives.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomes, Brandon 1984 births Living people People from Fall River, Massachusetts Baseball players from Massachusetts Major League Baseball pitchers Tampa Bay Rays players Tulane Green Wave baseball players Falmouth Commodores players Eugene Emeralds players Fort Wayne Wizards players Lake Elsinore Storm players San Antonio Missions players Durham Bulls players Peoria Saguaros players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Gulf Coast Rays players Iowa Cubs players Los Angeles Dodgers executives B.M.C. Durfee High School alumni Major League Baseball general managers American people of Portuguese descent