Tradition says that when a veteran joins a team and asks a young player for his uniform number, there is some kind of exchange. So, when Carlos Gómez signed with the Tampa Bay Rays in March 2018 and contacted a kid shortstop named Willy Adames about No. 27, Gómez expected to pay up.

Adames was 22 at the time and about to get his first experience in the big leagues. He happens to hail from the same hometown as Gómez -- Santiago in the Dominican Republic -- and had a different idea.

“He called me his ‘dad,’” Gómez said. “I tried to pass on what I got as a young age. I was with Willy everywhere. I tried to give him a present, but he didn’t want anything. I said, ‘From this day to the day I leave, I’m going to take care of you.’”

The story came full circle on Saturday. Adames -- who was traded to the Brewers on Friday -- joined his new team and went 1-for-3 with a critical walk in a 4-3 win in Cincinnati, where a No. 27 jersey was waiting in his locker, the same number Gómez wore over parts of six sometimes maddening, often electrifying, seasons in Milwaukee from 2010-15. Gómez made a pair of All-Star teams, earned a $24 million contract that set him up for life, then shed tears when the Brewers traded him to the Astros in a July 2015 deal that landed Josh Hader and propelled Milwaukee into an accelerated rebuild.

Gómez calls them the best years of his baseball life, on and off the field. When he texted with Adames on Friday and early Saturday morning, he shared some of those good memories of Milwaukee.

“I said, ‘I left a lot of base hits in that jersey, so you better keep it,’” Gómez said.

He’s obviously biased, but Gómez insisted the Brewers made a good trade.

“That kid, for me, is like family,” Gómez said. “We’re always together in the Dominican; we work together. We’re always talking. To be traded during the season, I know how hard it is. I told him it’s a new experience, his new season starts tomorrow. This is a new opportunity to be on a championship team.

“He’s professional. At a young age, he has a really good attitude. You guys are going to love him. He’s always smiling. He can change the environment in the clubhouse just the way he comes to the ballpark every day with a smile on his face. He loves to play. He plays hard. He knows how to separate the offense from the defense. I’m in the ‘bleachers’ right now, watching the team. I pay attention to everything. I see the Brewers need a shortstop and right now we have a shortstop.”

Gómez said he texted Adames at 6:20 a.m. on Saturday and was surprised to get an immediate response. That means Adames is excited about a fresh start, Gómez surmised.

And, excited to wear a familiar number.

“I know [Gómez] means a lot for the fans in Milwaukee, for the organization,” Adames said. “I told him, 'You know, I'm going to use your number with a lot of pride. And I hope I can bring some great memories of what you did and when you were playing there.’”

Gómez said he is eager to re-live some of those memories this summer. The Brewers announced in March that he would formally retire as a Brewer and be inducted to the team’s Wall of Honor, which recognizes players who spent a certain number of years with the team or won various awards. The date of the visit has had to remain fluid because of the pandemic, said Gómez, who intends to get on a plane to spend a few weeks in Milwaukee as soon as he can get his COVID-19 vaccine in the Dominican Republic.

He’s still in playing shape, by the way. Gómez is an avid road biker. 

"I just want to keep my body in shape and feeling sexy, you know? Always, you have to keep it sexy,” he said with a smile. “When you have a wife, you have to be sexy. Right now, I’m in better shape than when I was playing. Now, I do it to look good. I’m more lean now and have a lot of energy. I am 35 and I feel like I’m 20. I’m still jumping around the house and making everybody angry.”