Catcher Yan Gomes told reporters in a conference call at Winterfest last month that he was excited to join the Washington Nationals’ rotation after the 3-for-1 trade that brought him to D.C. from Cleveland.
Getting to catch pitchers like Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, Gomes explained, was the first thing he thought of when he learned he’d been dealt.
“That was literally the first thing that I thought about,” the 31-year-old catcher said.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to get to work with some unbelievable starting pitchers with the Indians, and the Nationals’ starting pitchers are right there.