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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

and current baseball executive. He played for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

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. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, tenth-largest city in the state, and the second- ...

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

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

, 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 one of the oldest, largest, and most widely recognized cocurricular student organizations in American high schools, with 1.4 million members. The purpose of the NHS is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to ...

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

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

. After having a successful freshman season, Gomes had

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery 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 body, ...

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 1,000 forme ...

, 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

in the seventeenth round (537th overall) of the 2007 MLB draft out of

. Gomes is of Portuguese and Italian heritage.

Tampa Bay Rays

In December 2010 Gomes was traded to the

along with Adam Russell, Cesar Ramos and Cole Figueroa 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 a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

. 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 (baseball), pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the fastest ball thrown by a pitcher. It is s ...

(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 Baseball players from Fall River, 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 Sportspeople of Portuguese descent