The Cleveland Guardians designated left-handed reliever Anthony Gose for assignment. Gose was on the major league roster for just three days before being let go in order to make room for Alex Cobb. In that brief time, Gose made one relief appearance against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He threw 1 1/3 innings, giving up two earned runs, walked one, and served up a home run.
Game two moves.#ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/tO2iov6blL
— GuardsInsider (@GuardsInsider) August 9, 2024
Guardians DFA Reliever Anthony Gose
Switching Positions
In the not-too-distant past, Gose was an outfielder (2012-2016) but didn’t hit for power or average. As a result, he decided to take the mound–and was a surprising success. Between 2021-2022, Gose pitched 27 2/3 innings for the Guardians with a serviceable 3.90 ERA and a 31.9% strikeout rate before becoming an all-too-familiar casualty of Tommy John surgery.
Attempted Comeback
The following year, Gose resigned with Cleveland, but to a minor league deal. He was still recovering from going under the knife. This year, the left-hander began his rehab assignment. He still has some swing-and-miss stuff, he just doesn’t know where it’s going. Perhaps more troubling than the lack of control, however, is the miles-per-hour missing on his fastball. In 2o21, Gose’s heater ran an impressive 99 mph. By contrast, this year, the fastball averaged 94.5 mph.
Running Out of Options
The Guardians have the best bullpen in baseball right now with a 2.68 ERA. They are also in a tight pennant race as the Minnesota Twins are lurking just 2 1/2 games behind. Cleveland does not have the luxury of waiting to see if Gose will figure out his control issues while on the roster. Most likely, they will put him on waivers and hope some team will see a power arm and how to harness it. Gose is out of options, but if someone does pick him up, he would be under team control through 2026. As for the converted reliever, he can only hope that time will be an asset and not a liability.
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