CLEVELAND — The Guardians bolstered the pitching depth in their developmental pipeline on Thursday, when they acquired lefty Franklin Gomez from the Mets in exchange for international bonus pool money.
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The deal coincided with the opening of the 2026 international signing period on Thursday. Cleveland sent New York $1.5 million in bonus pool money, a source told MLB.com.
Gomez (who will turn 21 on July 6) signed with the Mets out of Venezuela in January 2022 upon the opening of the international signing period. He made his debut in affiliated ball in ‘23, and he had a strong ‘25 campaign spent between Single-A St. Lucie and High-A Brooklyn.
In 20 appearances (including 13 starts) this past season, Gomez logged a 2.76 ERA with 68 strikeouts and 34 walks over 71 2/3 innings. He recorded a 1.85 ERA in 48 2/3 innings over 14 appearances (seven starts) with St. Lucie, which earned him a promotion to Brooklyn on July 31. Gomez then turned in a 4.70 ERA in 23 innings over six starts.
Gomez features a five-pitch mix of a four-seamer, sinker, cutter, changeup and slider. According to Statcast, his four-seamer was his most-used offering during his time in Single-A in 2025, and it averaged 92.7 mph.
While 10 players on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Prospects list for the Guardians are pitchers, just two are left-handed in Parker Messick (No. 11) and Josh Hartle (No. 25). Messick made seven starts down the stretch in 2025 following his Aug. 20 MLB debut, and Hartle logged a 2.54 ERA over 24 starts with High-A Lake County and Double-A Akron.
Gomez adds another intriguing southpaw to the pipeline, which (among those who finished last season with Lynchburg or Lake County) also includes starters Melkis Hernandez, Michael Kennedy and Rafe Schlesinger.
Thursday’s move marks the second straight offseason the Guardians have made a trade involving international bonus pool money — which they sent to the Blue Jays last January in the Myles Straw trade.
