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I admit, I was the first to think that any appeal would only last a few days before Gomez is forced to sit three (or fewer, if he wins any leeway) games. I assumed that Gomez would at least serve a game or two concurrently with Martin Maldonado and the Brewers would be forced to operate with a 23-man roster. A 22-man roster if you count Wang as unplayable like the Brewers seem to.
Looking at previous suspensions for fighting or other in-game actions, that may not be the case, however. Here is how a handful of appeals went over the past couple years for players challenging their punishments:
Ian Kennedy dropped his appeal after four days for a 10-game suspension stemming from his involvement in a Dodgers-Diamondbacks fight last year. It took MLB a month to deny Skip Schumaker's appeal against a suspension from the same fight.
Rick Porcello dropped his appeal of a 6-game suspension for intentionally throwing at Ben Zobrist after nine days when MLB agreed to reduce it to five. It took Coco Crisp three weeks in 2008 before his suspension for charging the mound was reduced.
Those are only a handful of players but, in truth, it seems that fewer players actually appeal their suspensions than I would have thought. Those that do either do so very briefly and drop it or end up waiting it out for a fairly extended time.
So what does this mean for the Brewers? If Gomez continues to appeal his suspension, it may take between two-to-four weeks before he sees a resolution. Backup outfielder Logan Schafer is currently on the DL, but should only see the minimum time out and will then be back on the roster around May 3. If Gomez waits out the entire appeals process, there is actually a very real possibility that Milwaukee can wait until Schafer is back with the team before Gomez misses time. That will prevent the team from needing Elian Herrera to play center field.
However, it may be possible MLB makes Gomez a deal. If the league says they will take off a game from his suspension in exchange for him dropping the appeal, a la Rick Porcello. I would think Gomez accepts that offer. Having Gomez miss one fewer game is probably more valuable to both him and the team to not accept, unless there is a strong belief that Gomez will get his entire suspension dropped (unlikely).
At the very least, Gomez can probably keep his appeal going for the next few days. Martin Maldonado has already started serving his suspension, so the two should be able to keep from serving their sentences at the same time. That's good news for a Brewers' team that can ill-afford to lose much depth.
How long Gomez's appeal will last is anyone's guess. It could be a few days, it could be a few weeks, it could be well over a month. But based on past appeals, there is a good chance the Brewers and Gomez can wait it out until Logan Schafer returns.
