Pirates acquire Gomez for Latimore
Gomez, who will turn 25 in February, was designated for assignment by the Indians on Jan. 2 to make room on the 40-man roster for outfielder Russ Canzler, whom they claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays. The Venezuelan-born Gomez spent parts of three seasons in Cleveland, going 14-16 with a 5.18 ERA in 42 appearances, 38 of them starts. He was 5-8 with a 5.96 mark over 90 2/3 innings in 2012 and saw his strikeout rate plunge to a career-low 4.7 per nine innings.
Gomez also made 11 starts for Triple-A Columbus in 2012, going 6-5 with a 4.41 ERA and 54 strikeouts over 69 1/3 frames. He tossed a two-hit shutout, fanning seven, at Indianapolis on July 13, harking back to his perfect game against Trenton as a member of the Double-A Akron Aeros in 2009. That gem was the first nine-inning perfecto in the Eastern League since Scranton's Chet Covington set down 27 straight Albany hitters on May 23, 1943.
In five appearances with the Tiburones de La Guaira of the Venezuelan Winter League this offseason, Gomez is 0-1 with a 5.65 ERA and a .344 average against.
The Pirates' fourth-round pick in the 2007 Draft, Latimore has spent the last two seasons with Double-A Altoona, hitting 15 homers in both Eastern League campaigns. He was a Florida State League All-Star in 2010 after batting .266 with 19 longballs and 100 RBIs and owns a career .252/.310/.419 line over 610 Minor League games. The North Carolina native turns 24 in February.
John Parker is a contributor to MLB.com.