The Guardians and left-hander Anthony Gose have agreed on a two-year minor league deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Gose will make $1MM per season if in the big leagues.
The reason for the two-year deal is that Gose is unlikely to pitch at all in 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in September. At the end of the year, he was non-tendered by the club but will stick around without taking up a spot on the 40-man roster. He will presumably make a lesser salary while rehabbing this year and hope to get back onto a big league mound in 2024 with a salary a bit above the league minimum.
Prior to that surgery setback, Gose was on one of the more unique baseball journeys. He had spent much of his career as an outfielder, playing for the Blue Jays and Tigers from 2012 to 2016. However, he hit at a below-average rate, producing a career slash line of .240/.309/.348.
A two-way star in high school, Gose then tried a return to the mound. He often struggled with command, but still showed impressive stuff overall, including a triple-digit fastball. He made it back to the big leagues with Cleveland last year and has thrown 27 2/3 innings so far. The control is still not ideal, as his 13.8% walk rate is definitely on the high side. But he’s also struck out 31.9% of batters faced and posted a 3.90 ERA.
Gose got over three years service time this year and would have been arbitration eligible. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a salary of $800K, just above next year’s minimum salary of $720K. Given that he’s likely to miss the entire season, the Guardians non-tendered him, but they clearly still like his chances of being useful for them in time. Gose is currently 32 years old, turning 33 in August. If he returns to health in 2024, the Guardians could retain him via arbitration for future seasons as well.
Better deal for the club than just handing out a free money like Paxton got.
Not too many guys successfully transition from centerfield to pitching. This dude is good for the game. I hope he comes back strong.
I can hardly imagine the amount of work Gose has put into learning to pitch. Now his recovery will be another huge obstacle. Great to see that he is still going for it and he has a team willing to support him.
Good look for both Anthony and the Guardians. Cheering for him to come back and contribute.
That Gose to show you things can work out for the better
I see what you did there…
Since he’s rehabbing, they signed him to an “Easy Comes Easy Gose” contract
Nice deal for ‘Guards
The Guardians must believe in Gose.
Does not say what his minor league pay is for 2023. Not likely he will get back to bigs before 2024 if at all. Not a lot of money. Nice gesture by Cleveland owner and management. They could have just left him to fend for himself.
Good Minors signing for ‘Guards. No harm deal.
A good guy. A gamer. Loves the game. Great athlete. Hope it all Gose well.
The very very poor man’s MiLB version of Shohei.
Theoretically, could someone take him in the Rule V draft and stash him on their IL for the year?
He’s not on the 40 man
Very cool… good for both sides, great to see Gose sticking around