Rio Andres Gomez (born October 20, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Wei Chuan Dragons of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).

Career

Amateur

Gomez graduated from

Desert Vista High School Desert Vista High School is a public high school located in the Ahwatukee area of Phoenix, Arizona. Opened in 1996, it is the second Tempe Union High School District (TUHSD) school in Ahwatukee and serves approximately 3,000 students. Academic ...

in Phoenix, Arizona. He was cut from the varsity baseball team in his senior year. Gomez attended

Mesa Community College Mesa Community College (MCC) is a public community college in Mesa, Arizona. It is the largest of the 10 community colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District, the largest community college district in the United States in ter ...

and walked on to the school's college baseball team. He then transferred to the University of Arizona and played for the Arizona Wildcats baseball team as a walk-on.

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox drafted Gomez in the 36th round, with the 1,091st overall selection, of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

. He spent his first professional season split between the rookie–level

Gulf Coast League Red Sox The Florida Complex League Red Sox are a professional baseball team competing in the rookie-level Florida Complex League (FCL) of Minor League Baseball. The team is owned and operated by the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Prior ...

, and Low–A Lowell Spinners, accumulating a 3.06 ERA across 16 contests. In 2018, Gomez pitched for Lowell and the Single–A Greenville Drive, making a combined 18 appearances and posting a 2.02 ERA with 34 strikeouts across innings of work. Gomez split the 2019 season between Greenville and the High–A Salem Red Sox. In 39 appearances out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

between the two clubs, he registered a cumulative 2.20 ERA with 75 strikeouts and 7 saves across innings pitched. Gomez did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He returned to action in 2021, splitting the year between Salem and the Double–A Portland Sea Dogs. In 29 combined appearances, Gomez logged a 3.64 ERA with 60 strikeouts across 47.0 innings of work. He returned to Portland in 2022 and spent the entirety of the season with the team, appearing in 24 games and struggling to a 6.55 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 33.0 innings pitched. Gomez began the 2023 season with the Portland, and was promoted to the Worcester Red Sox in June. In 26 games (13 starts) between the two affiliates, he recorded a 4.95 ERA with 88 strikeouts in innings of work. Gomez became a free agent following the season on November 6, 2023.

Wei Chuan Dragons

On February 6, 2024, Gomez signed with the Wei Chuan Dragons of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.

International career

Gomez played for the

Colombian national baseball team The Colombia national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Colombia'') is the national baseball team of Colombia. The team represents Colombia in international competitions. History The Colombian national team first participated ...

, representing his mother's home country, in the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

. He pitched innings of scoreless relief against the Canadian national team, striking out

Jacob Robson Jacob Charles Robson (born November 20, 1994) is a Canadian former professional baseball outfielder. The Detroit Tigers selected Robson in the eighth round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft. He made his MLB debut for the team in 2021. Care ...

and Edouard Julien.

Personal life

Gomez is the oldest son of Sandi and Pedro Gomez, a baseball journalist. He has Colombian ancestry through his mother and Cuban ancestry through his father, who passed away in 2021. Pedro Gomez predicted that his son would play for the Colombian national team six years before the 2023 WBC.

References

External links

Living people 1994 births Sportspeople from Miami Sportspeople from Phoenix, Arizona Baseball pitchers Minor league baseball players Mesa Thunderbirds baseball players Arizona Wildcats baseball players Cotuit Kettleers players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Lowell Spinners players Greenville Drive players Salem Red Sox players Portland Sea Dogs players Worcester Red Sox players Estrellas Orientales players 2023 World Baseball Classic players American people of Colombian descent American people of Cuban descent Desert Vista High School alumni {{US-baseball-pitcher-1990s-stub