Yankees’ Yoendrys Gomez Comes Out Firing This Spring

Yoendrys Gomez is all the way back.

Finally.

The 23-year-old righthander was on a track to the big leagues after being added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster following the 2020 season. But he has spun just 70.2 innings since, sidelined by Tommy John surgery in August 2021.

Gomez worked his way back late last season and performed well statistically, recording a 2.49 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 47 innings in a three-level trek that culminated at Double-A Somerset.

But he still didn’t look quite like himself, not with his velocity down significantly from having touched 99 mph prior to elbow surgery.

That he was able to get back out there at all, no less perform well, has given him a big boost of confidence heading into this season, one he’ll likely begin back at Double-A.

“He hadn’t really pitched since 2019, so being able to actually get out there and compete and show that he’s able to do it at a high level was important, even when he’s probably not feeling his best,” Yankees director of pitching Sam Briend said.

Relying mostly on flat-ground work early in his lengthy rehab process, Gomez was falling off to his glove side and cutting the ball more than he wanted during game action, but he still managed positive results despite those issues.

With that now fixed, the sky once again seems to be the limit for the powerful Venezuelan who signed for just $50,000 as an international free agent in 2016.

“This year, he’s really gotten back to who he is, and the delivery is back under him,” said Briend of Gomez, who was touching 97 mph this spring. 

“All the shapes on his pitches are really good. His fastball has a lot of life, and the quality on the secondaries always flash good . . . He moved to Tampa for the offseason, stayed here, worked all offseason, and has just come out firing in spring training so far.”