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Update 8:22 PM ET: Gomes will earn $10 million over the two years, reports Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle, which is about twice what the Oakland Athletics offered.
Update 5:22 PM ET: The two-year agreement is pending a physical, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.
Original Story: The Boston Red Sox are "closing in" on a two-year contract with free agent outfielder Jonny Gomes, according to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald:
Can confirm through industry source that #RedSox are closing in on 2-year deal with OF Jonny Gomes. @sean_mcadam was first to report
— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) November 21, 2012
The Red Sox had been targeting an outfielder this offseason after Cody Ross hit the free agent market and the club traded Carl Crawford to the Los Angeles Dodgers over the summer. Boston had interest in re-signing Ross, but it appears they are nearing an agreement with Gomes instead.
Gomes posted impressive numbers during his limited at-bats with the Oakland Athletics last season. In 99 games with the A’s Gomes hit .262/.377/.491 with 10 doubles and 18 home runs in 279 at-bats.
Gomes has gotten on base at an average clip over his 10 seasons at the major league level and he provides pop from a corner outfield position. The 31-year-old owns a career line of .244/.334/.455 and posts considerably better numbers against lefties (.841 OPS) than he does versus right-handers (.754 OPS).