Cubs catcher Yan Gomes exits game after being hit in head; will be reevaluated on Tuesday
Yan Gomes exited Monday night’s game in Washington D.C. with an apparent head injury.
In the bottom of the 1st, Jeimer Candelario’s bat hit Gomes on the top of the head in his backswing. He took his at-bat in the top of the 2nd, struck out on 4 pitches and then exited before the bottom of the 2nd inning as a precautionary measure. Per the Cubs, he will be reevaluated tomorrow and is not in the concussion protocol.
“There’s a couple of backswings that have gotten him in Florida and then even going back to the Dodgers series,” manager David Ross said after the game. “He’ll get looked at by the doctor. He’s already been looked at a little bit. We’ll get him checked out in the morning and we’ll go from there.”
Per #Cubs, Yan Gomes was hit in the head with a back swing in the first inning. He was pulled as a precaution and will be evaluated.
— Taylor McGregor (@Taylor_McGregor) May 2, 2023
Tucker Barnhart replaced him behind the plate. Barnhart is the other lone catcher on the Cubs’ roster, the team designating Luis Torrens for assignment on Friday. If Gomes is out for an extended period, it could create some roster questions for the Cubs.
Miguel Amaya is the only other catcher on the Cubs’ 40-man roster, but he’s at Double-A Tennessee and it’s unlikely the Cubs would call him up, given the injuries he battled in 2022 — Tommy John surgery and a Lisfranc injury. The Cubs figure he’ll make his major league debut at some point this season, since it’s his last option year but it’s doubtful they’ll want to do so early in the season and just 56 plate appearances at Double-A this season (.273/.411/.659, 4 home runs).
If Torrens can clear waivers and accepts an assignment to the minor leagues, then the Cubs can add him back to the 40-man roster and call him up. But, the Cubs’ 40-man roster is currently full, so they’d need to clear a spot to add him.
If Torrens is picked up on waivers, the Cubs have Dom Nuñez as their Iowa Cubs’ starter at catcher. He’s hitting .206/.333/.349 with 2 home runs and 13 RBI. Nuñez was in camp with the Cubs for most of spring, so he has some repertoire with the Cubs’ pitching staff and game-calling staff.
Gomes this season is slashing .294/.310/.529 with 5 home runs this season and has been a crucial game-caller and defensive stalwart for the Cubs.