Carlos Argelis Gómez (born December 4, 1985 in Santiago, Dominican Republic) is an outfielder for the Minnesota Twins.
Along with Fernando Martínez, Gómez was considered one of the top New York Mets outfield prospects and is considered to be a five tool prospect. While they were teammates, Mets shortstop José Reyes, who led the National League in stolen bases and triples for multiple seasons, said that Gómez is faster than him. Gomez is the starting center fielder for the Twins, replacing the now-departed Torii Hunter.
At just 16 years of age, Gómez signed with the Mets as an international free agent on July 27, 2002. In 2006, he played for Double-A Binghamton of the Eastern League, and was the co-winner of the Sterling Award. He finished second in the league with 41 stolen bases and fifth in the league with eight triples. He also batted .281 (121-430) with 53 runs scored, 24 doubles, seven home runs and 48 RBIs.
Gómez started the 2007 season with the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs. Playing every day, by the second week of May he led the Pacific Coast League with 17 stolen bases in 36 games and hit .286 (40-for-140), scoring 24 runs, and hitting eight doubles, two triples, and two home runs.
Gomez was part of the youth movement in New York, and was the youngest player in the National League at the time of his debut. He became expendable when Johan Santana, of the Minnesota Twins, became available via trade. Carlos had quickly become a fan favorite at Shea Stadium. Many fans felt that Carlos should have stayed with the Mets, and would have rather traded another highly-touted prospect in his place, Fernando Martinez.
Gómez won a three-way race for the center field in 2008, beating out prospects Denard Span and Jason Pridie. He had an excellent regular-season debut for the Twins, going 2-for-3 with a walk, two stolen bases and two runs as the Twins beat the Angels, 3-2. On April 11, 2008, Gómez hit his first career triple off Yasuhiko Yabuta of the Royals.
On May 7, 2008, Gómez hit for the cycle against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago. He became the fourth major leaguer and second in Twins history to hit for the reverse natural cycle. He also became the third-youngest player to hit for the cycle in MLB history.
As of July 7, 2008, Gómez is tied for 7th in the AL in stolen bases with 21.
