McGowan is taking over the dugout for a local high school club in the Tallahassee area, Joey Lamar of WCTV reports. The former first-round draft pick, top-100 prospect, and ten-year MLB veteran is obviously looking to participate in the game in a different capacity rather than trying one last go at the bigs.

This is hardly a surprise, given that the 38-year-old McGowan last appeared professionally in 2017. Still, it’s nice to put a bow on a career when it becomes apparent that it has come to an end.

McGowan was long seen as an intriguing talent on the mound, having ranked among the hundred best prospects in the game (by measure of Baseball America) on four occasions. While he had his moments in the majors, he was never fully able to translate the promise into consistent productivity at the game’s highest level.

It’s impossible to ignore the role that health issues had in shaping McGowan’s career. Drafted 33rd overall by the Blue Jays in 2000, he was climbing the ladder nicely before Tommy John surgery in 2004. He bounced back to regain top prospect billing, but yet more woes arose thereafter. McGowan underwent a shoulder labrum surgery in 2008, had his knee operated on in 2009, and underwent rotator cuff work in 2010. He also required another shoulder procedure in 2012.

McGowan showed quite a bit of promise in 2007, when he took the ball 27 times and turned in a 4.08 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 over 169 2/3 innings. And he was throwing well enough in the ensuing campaign … before the ball-and-socket issues arose. McGowan never again turned in significant innings from the rotation.

Though his time in Toronto ended largely in disappointment, McGowan did have one last hurrah left in the tank. In 2016, with the Marlins, he worked to a 2.82 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 4.4 BB/9 over 67 frames. He came back to Miami for the 2017 season but wasn’t able to replicate the success, and we haven’t heard from McGowan since.

MLBTR wishes McGowan and his new ballclub the best of luck.

• Veteran reliever Junichi Tazawa has been released after clearing waivers, the Marlins announced. Miami will remain responsible for the rest of his $7MM salary for the current season, less any eventual earnings at the MLB minimum rate. Tazawa was one of several veteran hurlers added by the Marlins in hopes of building around a talented (and since largely traded-away) core of position-player talent. Like most of the others, he did not contribute as hoped. Tazawa was even worse this year than last, allowing an earned run for each of the twenty frames he handled.
• The Marlins have also parted ways with righty Dustin McGowan, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro recently tweeted. The 36-year-old reliever had caught on with the Miami organization in mid-April but had not appeared with an affiliate. McGowan played a big role in the Miami pen in each of the past two years, though he could not sustain the 2.82 ERA pitching he showed in 2016. Last year, McGowan worked to a 4.75 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 over 77 2/3 innings.
• Outfielder Todd Cunningham has been cut loose by the White Sox, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports. The 29-year-old has not seen the majors since 2016 and has only accumulated 130 plate appearances there in total. He has bounced between multiple organizations over the past two seasons. After a useful showing at the plate in Triple-A in 2017 (.284/.404/.414), Cunningham has struggled to a .163/.246/.204 slash in his first sixty plate appearances of the current season.
• Finally, the Angels have released righty Vicente Campos, as Eddy also covers. Campos, 25, has one MLB appearance under his belt but has otherwise spent the past few years in the upper minors. Despite promising results there in 2016, injuries and performance problems have prevailed since. In 46 innings since the start of 2017, Campos has allowed 39 earned runs on 65 hits while sporting an unpalatable 39:30 K/BB ratio.

McGowan, 36, spent the 2016-17 seasons with the Marlins. In that time, he totaled 144 2/3 innings of 3.86 ERA ball with 7.9 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and 1.2 HR/9 with a 53 percent ground-ball rate. A starter early in his career with the Blue Jays, McGowan has worked almost entirely out of the bullpen since 2013 — often tossing more than one inning per appearance — and logged a 4.08 ERA in 275 2/3 frames in that time.

[Related: Miami Marlins depth chart]

Miami entered the season with Brad Ziegler as its closer and a pair of quality setup pieces behind him in the form of Kyle Barraclough and Drew Steckenrider. Jarlin Garcia’s move into the rotation, though, has only further muddled the bullpen picture behind that trio. Junichi Tazawa is missing bats early in the season but has also walked six batters (albeit two intentionally) in 7 2/3 innings. And the group of Tayron Guerrero, Odrisamer Despaigne, Chris O’Grady and Tyler Cloyd, each presently in the Miami relief corps, comes with little in the way of certainty.

McGowan probably won’t make any starts for the Marlins — he has just one start since 2015 — but his ability to work longer stints in relief makes him a sensible depth add for a Miami club with a thin bullpen mix and a highly inexperienced rotation.

McGowan is no stranger to South Florida, having spent the 2016-17 seasons with the Marlins. In that time, he totaled 144 2/3 innings of 3.86 ERA ball with 7.9 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and 1.2 HR/9 with a 53 percent ground-ball rate. A starter early in his career with the Blue Jays, McGowan has worked almost entirely out of the bullpen since 2013 — often tossing more than one inning per appearance — and logged a 4.08 ERA in 275 2/3 frames in that time.

Miami entered the season with Brad Ziegler as its closer and a pair of quality setup pieces behind him in the form of Kyle Barraclough and Drew Steckenrider. Beyond that trio, though, the relief corps has been largely pieced together, currently featuring Junichi Tazawa, Tayron Guerrero, Jarlin Garcia, Odrisamer Despaigne, Chris O’Grady and Jacob Turner.

Adding McGowan to the mix — presumably down the line a bit, as he’d likely need a tune-up in the minors — would give the Fish some more experience and some more length out of their bullpen. That seems particularly important to a club that’s currently relying on righty Jose Urena and three rookies (Dillon Peters, Trevor Richards and Caleb Smith) in a four-man rotation while Dan Straily recovers from a forearm issue.

McGowan, 36 later this month, spent the 2016-17 seasons with the Marlins, totaling 144 2/3 innings of 3.86 ERA ball and averaging 7.9 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 and 1.2 HR/9 with a 53 percent ground-ball rate along the way. A starter early in his career with the Blue Jays, McGowan has worked almost entirely out of the bullpen since 2013 — often tossing more than one inning per appearance — and logged a 4.08 ERA in 275 2/3 frames in that time. He’ll presumably look to latch on elsewhere, hoping another club will provide him a stronger opportunity to earn a roster spot.

[Related: Updated Tampa Bay Rays depth chart]

As for the Rays, they’re still trying to sort out who will fill the final few spots in their bullpen behind Alex Colome, Sergio Romo, Daniel Hudson and lefties Dan Jennings and Jose Alvarado. The 40-man roster presents numerous options, including Andrew Kittredge, Chaz Roe, Austin Pruitt, Ryne Stanek, Jaime Schultz and Diego Castillo. The Rays also have several left-handers with big league experience in camp as non-roster invitees: Jonny Venters, Vidal Nuno, Adam Kolarek and Dan Runzler.

While that’s a large group of candidates, the Rays look to be slowly narrowing the field. In addition to allowing McGowan to explore other opportunities, the Rays released veteran righty Evan Scribner earlier this afternoon. Like McGowan, Scribner had been in camp on a minor league deal.

Soon to turn 36, the former first-round pick has spent the past two campaigns with the Marlins. He posted a notable bounceback effort in 2016 but stumbled in last year.

To be fair, McGowan did still managed to handle 77 2/3 frames over 63 appearances, so he’s still capable of bearing a substantial load. But he had a tough season in the results department, posting a 4.75 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9.

Despite carrying a typically solid 50.9% groundball rate last year, McGowan coughed up 13 home runs. He also lost some velocity after showing career-best rates in 2016, but still averaged over 94 with both his four and two-seam fastballs.

In the aggregate, it seems McGowan will have his work cut out to earn a shot on the Opening Day roster. At a minimum, he’ll have a chance to establish position on the overall reliever depth chart. It’s worth remembering that there could yet be some added opportunities in Tampa Bay depending upon how the rest of the offseason unfolds.

DECEMBER 7, 1:32pm: The Marlins and McGowan are in agreement on a one-year, Major League contract, tweets Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports.

11:58am: The Marlins are close to re-signing right-hander Dustin McGowan, reports MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (via Twitter). It is not clear at this point whether or not the veteran hurler stands to receive a major league deal.

McGowan, 34, turned in a nice year for the Marlins in 2016 after joining the organization as a minor-league free agent. Over 67 frames, he worked to a 2.82 ERA on just 49 hits. McGowan struck out 8.5 and walked 4.4 batters per nine innings.

Once a promising starter, McGowan saw his career derailed by injuries. He has made just 13 starts since he last worked consistently from a rotation back in 2008, and has compiled only 219 total innings since the start of the 2009 season. But the bulk of those have come over the past several years, and McGowan just tied a career-high in average fastball velocity (94.7 mph), so there’s some reason to believe that there’s still some life left in hism

Breslow, 35, has provided 14 innings to the Miami pen thus far, allowing seven earned runs on 21 hits and four walks while retiring seven batters via strikeout. But Breslow has had several rough outings in which he’s given up multiple runs, including his most recent. And with his 45-day advance consent clause soon due, the Fish obviously decided not to keep his salary on the books for the rest of the season.

As for the 34-year-old McGowan, a fellow minor league signee over the winter, this will represent his second run of the year with the Marlins. He was previously outrighted after 5 1/3 innings. Though he allowed just two earned runs on six hits, McGowan managed only a pair of strikeouts to go with two walks.

Narveson, 34, was off to a rough start in his first 8 1/3 innings on the season. He’d allowed eight earned runs and three long balls already. While it’s early, the numbers reflect the fact that Narveson has been unable to generate many swings and misses (6.2% swinging strike rate) while also failing to get batters to chase the ball out of the zone.

Meanwhile, McGowan will have a chance to decide whether to elect free agency or instead remain in the Miami organization. He was reportedly earning a $1MM major league salary, but agreed to an advance consent clause that means he won’t be guaranteed that amount. Still, his deal likely includes a relatively appealing minor league rate of pay.

McGowan, whom the Marlins signed in December, had already racked up six appearances out of their bullpen this year. The 34-year-old totaled 5 1/3 innings, gave up two earned runs and added a pair of strikeouts and walks. In 178 career appearances as a starter and reliever, McGowan owns a 4.67 ERA to go along with a 7.31 K/9 and 3.89 BB/9.

Barraclough was lights-out in Triple-A to begin the campaign, undoubtedly leading to his promotion to the majors. The 25-year-old threw six innings of 1.50 ERA ball for New Orleans and compiled a 13.50 K/9 and 1.50 BB/9. He showed similar strikeout ability for the Marlins in 24 1/3 innings last season (11.1 K/9), but his control wasn’t nearly as pinpoint (6.66 BB/9). Nevertheless, he averaged 95.5 mph on his fastball while putting up an impressive 2.59 ERA and a solid 3.42 FIP. Barraclough was particularly tough on right-handed hitters, who amassed a horrid .143/.263/.234 line against him. MLBPipeline.com rates Barraclough as the Marlins’ 20th-best prospect.

• Miguel Gonzalez’s contract with the White Sox does not include an opt-out clause, Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago reports on Twitter. The veteran righty will represent useful rotation depth in Triple-A. Though he is coming off of a disastrous 2015 and didn’t show well in the spring, the 31-year-old has provided plenty of solid innings (with occasionally excellent results) over the years. He’s all the more useful to Chicago without concern of a hard opt-out date.
• Marlins relievers Craig Breslow and Dustin McGowan have both signed advance consent agreements allowing them to be removed from the major league roster without guaranteeing the remainder of their salary within 45 days of Opening Day, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports on Twitter. Breslow will earn at a $1.5MM rate in the majors, as was reported upon his signing, while McGowan will take home $1MM annually. Meanwhile, Heyman adds, lefty Chris Narveson will earn $1.2MM in the majors. He doesn’t specify whether Narveson has an advanced consent agreement.
• The Phillies are set to pay southpaw James Russell at a $1.5MM rate and Emmanuel Burriss $925K annually, Heyman adds on Twitter. Russell has had some productive campaigns in the past, and cracked the Opening Day roster after posting nine strikeouts and no walks in his 6 2/3 spring innings. As for Burriss, 31, he appeared briefly in the big leagues last year for the first time since a five-year run of part-time action with the Giants between 2008 and 2012.

• The Tigers signed 17 minor leaguers, reports Anthony Fenech and James Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press. Among the most notable names are left-handed pitcher Drake Britton and right-handed pitchers Rafael Dolis, Lendy Castillo, and Preston Guilmet. The club also inked infielder Tommy Field. Britton, a former top Red Sox prospect, has pitched well in limited major league action. However, he scuffled with the Cubs Triple-A affiliate last season, posting a 5.08 ERA in 83 innings. Guilmet has strong minor league peripherals, but he’s struggled through 23 major league innings with a 8.22 ERA (4.28 xFIP).
• The Tigers also inked right-handed pitcher Jake Brigham. However, his situation is unique in that he’s also pursuing a contract with NPB’s Rakuten Eagles. Brigham, soon-to-turn-28, has posted decent numbers as a minor league swingman. The Braves gave him a brief major league audition last season in which he threw 16 innings with a 8.64 ERA.
• The Braves have signed former Reds starter David Holmberg, reports Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. Holmberg, 24, has thrown 62 major league innings over 12 starts and two relief appearances. He has a 6.24 ERA with 4.79 K/9 and 5.08 BB/9. Atlanta also acquired reliever Ethan Martin. The former Phillies swingman flashed decent stuff with command problems in the majors, leading to a 5.93 ERA, 10.43 K/9, and 5.93 BB/9 in 44 innings.
• The Orioles have signed lefty Jeff Beliveau. The southpaw missed most of 2015 with a labrum injury. He’s experienced success as a situational reliever, including a 2.63 ERA with 10.50 K/9 and 2.63 BB/9 in 2014 (24 innings, 30 appearances).
• The Marlins have added righty Dustin McGowan. The once successful 33-year-old pitched poorly for the Phillies while struggling with control in 2015. He was only marginally better at Triple-A. If McGowan recovers his form, he could be a valuable reliever. He has a career 4.68 ERA with 7.35 K/9 and 3.90 BB/9 in 505 innings.
• The Mets have inked former Brewers closer Jim Henderson. Injuries caused the 33-year-old to lose his ninth inning role in 2014, and he’s failed to reestablish himself since then. Last season in 29 innings for Milwaukee’s Triple-A affiliate, Henderson posted a 4.55 ERA with 7.58 K/9 and 5.16 BB/9.
• The Padres have signed Philip Humber to a minor league deal. Humber pitched the 2015 for the KBO’s KIA Tigers in 2015. He posted a 6.75 ERA in the offensively charged league. Humber is perhaps best remembered for his unlikely perfect game for the White Sox in April of 2012. He was also part of the haul that brought Johan Santana to the Mets.

• Phillies righty Dustin McGowan has been added to the Triple-A roster at Lehigh Valley, per Director of Media Relations Matt Provence (via Twitter), meaning that he accepted his outright assignment. The club has also released infielder Jayson Nix. Over 195 plate appearances this year at the Triple-A level with the Phillies and Orioles organizations, Nix has struggled to a .162/.196/.222 slash. He has seen at least some MLB action in each of the past seven seasons, but will need to find another minor league opportunity to work his way back to the big leagues.
• The Tigers have released infielder Josh Prince, James Schmehl of MLive.com reports. Prince, 27, joined the Detroit organization as a minor league free agent after spending his entire prior pro career with the Brewers. He enjoyed a cup of coffee in 2013, but has otherwise played exclusively in the minors. Prince’s primary calling card is his speed — he has 217 professional stolen bases over parts of seven seasons — and his up the middle capabilities on defense. He had scuffled to a .205/.295/.299 slash in his 132 plate appearances at the Tigers’ Double-A affiliate.

• The Phillies outrighted Dustin McGowan to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, according to the MLB.com transactions page.  The 33-year-old has struggled with his control this season, leading to a 6.94 ERA in 23 1/3 innings. McGowan’s 21 strikeouts in that time are a solid mark, but he’s also walked 20 hitters, and his ground-ball rate is down significantly from its peak — a trend that began last year in Toronto and has continued in 2015.
• Padres left-hander Eury De La Rosa cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A El Paso, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune (via Twitter).  De La Rosa, 25, has pitched exclusively at Triple-A this year, working to a 4.03 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 5.6 BB/9 over 22 1/3 frames. That represents a career-worst K:BB ratio in his professional career.
• As we passed along earlier today, Mets pitcher Dillon Gee was also placed on outright waivers.  As the DFA Tracker shows, that leaves six players in DFA limbo: Jhonatan Solano, Phillippe Aumont, Andy Parrino, Hector Noesi, Jeff Bianchi, and Rickie Weeks.

The 33-year-old McGowan has already been outrighted off the 40-man roster once this season but remained with the organization after he cleared waivers. He’ll have the option o elect free agency once again, if he is ultimately exposed to waivers and clears for a second time. The veteran swingman has struggled with his control this season, leading to a 6.94 ERA in 23 1/3 innings. McGowan’s 21 strikeouts in that time are a solid mark, but he’s also walked 20 hitters, and his ground-ball rate is down significantly from its peak — a trend that began last year in Toronto and has continued in 2015.

Diekman, 28, entered the season as one of the more intriguing arms in the Phillies’ bullpen mix but struggled to a 6.75 ERA through 21 1/3 innings before being optioned to Triple-A earlier this month. His brief trip to the minors was as encouraging as Phillies’ decision-makers could possibly have hoped, as he fired seven scoreless innings, allowing just five hits and a walk while punching out seven batters. Diekman whiffed 100 hitters in just 71 innings last year and posted FIP, xFIP and SIERA marks between 2.64 and 2.85, suggesting that he had performed much better than his 3.80 ERA otherwise indicated. He’ll likely rejoin Ken Giles as a setup option for closer Jonathan Papelbon, though he could move into a more prominent role in the Philly bullpen if Papelbon is ultimately traded.