Royals Sign Anthony Gose To Minor League Deal
The Royals signed left-handed reliever Anthony Gose to a minor league deal, per a club announcement. The CAA client has been assigned to Triple-A Omaha for the time being.
Gose, 35, was a two-way star as an amateur but drafted by the Phillies as an outfielder in the second round back in 2008. He spent years as a top-100 prospect in that role, eventually debuting with the 2012 Blue Jays after being traded to Toronto. He played parts of five season as an outfielder between Toronto and Detroit but managed only a .240/.309/.348 slash in 1252 big league plate appearances.
In 2017, Gose returned to the mound, beginning a transition back to a pitcher after his outfield career had begun to sputter. He’s pitched in the minors with Detroit, Texas, Cleveland, Arizona and New York (Mets), but the Guardians are the lone club to have brought him to the majors as a pitcher — which they’ve done in three seasons (2021, 2022, 2024).
Gose has pitched a total of 32 major league frames, showing huge velocity and bat-missing ability but shaky command. In his limited MLB work on the mound, he’s posted a 4.78 ERA, fanned 29.7% of his opponents and issued walks at a 12.3% clip. Gose reached the majors as a reliever in 2021, brandishing a fastball that averaged a blistering 99.3 mph. He was down to a 97 mph average the following season and wound up requiring Tommy John surgery in Sept. 2022. He returned to the majors with the Guards in 2024 but was tagged for five runs in 4 1/3 innings with a heater that sat 95.7 mph.
Gose split the 2025 season between the Triple-A affiliates for the Mets and D-backs. His average fastball dipped below 95 mph with New York’s Syracuse affiliate, but he added velo as the season went on and finished out the year sitting 95.9 mph with Arizona’s Reno club. Results-wise, he pitched 37 innings with a 4.62 ERA, a 24.3% strikeout rate and a 13.6% walk rate.
This past offseason, Gose signed with los Leones de Yucatán in the Mexican League. He opened the ’26 season with 5 2/3 innings of shutout relief, allowing only one hit and no walks. He punched out a ridiculous 12 of the 17 batters he faced. That understandably caught the attention of a Royals club that currently ranks 29th in bullpen ERA, with a collective 5.75 mark that leads only the Astros. Gose won’t jump right into the big league ranks, but with a nice showing in Triple-A and/or persistent struggles among Kansas City’s major league relief corps, it’s feasible he could get a look before long.
Diamondbacks Sign Trevor Richards To Minor League Deal
The Diamondbacks have signed right-hander Trevor Richards to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Reno alongside lefty Anthony Gose, per the southpaw’s tracker. It was reported earlier this week that the Snakes would be signing Gose but it wasn’t clear if it was a major or minor league deal.
Richards, 32, has had some major league success but has been in poor form for about a year now. The Blue Jays dealt him to the Twins at last year’s deadline but Richards lasted only 13 innings with Minnesota before being outrighted off the roster. In that time, he walked 11 opponents, a rate of 18.6% of batters faced. He also hit two other batters and issued seven wild pitches.
Here in 2025, he has signed minor league deals with the Cubs and Royals, getting a brief look in the majors with the latter club. He has thrown 19 1/3 minor league innings this year with a 4.19 earned run average, 25.6% strikeout rate and 13.6% walk rate. In his quick major league stint with Kansas City, he allowed four earned runs in three innings.
Prior to those struggles, he had a good run in the big leagues. He tossed 201 innings over the 2021-23 seasons with a 4.61 ERA, 31.3% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate. He earned one save and 25 holds in that time.
The Arizona bullpen has taken a few punches this season. The relief group was supposed to be anchored by A.J. Puk and Justin Martínez but both are currently out of commission. Martínez recently required Tommy John surgery and will be out for the year. Puk is on the IL with a flexor strain and was recently shut down due to some renewed discomfort. In addition to those two, Kendall Graveman and Christian Montes De Oca are also on the IL.
Amid those injuries, the club’s bullpen numbers are unsurprisingly poor. Arizona relievers have a collective 5.39 ERA, which puts them ahead of only the Nationals and Athletics. If they stay in the playoff race, adding relievers will surely be a deadline focus. For now, they’ll take chances on guys like Richards and Gose while hoping for the best.
Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images
D-backs To Sign Anthony Gose
The Diamondbacks have agreed to a deal with lefty reliever Anthony Gose, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Gose has spent the season thus far with the Mets organization, but the MiLB transaction log reflects that he was quietly released yesterday. Whether that was an opt-out clause, an upward mobility clause or a straight release remains to be seen, but Gose is headed to a new organization. If it’s a big league deal, the Diamondbacks will need to make a corresponding move, as their 40-man roster is currently at capacity. The team has not yet formally announced the signing.
Gose, 34, began his career as an outfielder back in 2008, when the Phillies selected him in the second round of the draft. He quickly became one of the game’s top prospects and wound up seeing action in parts of five major league seasons as an outfielder — all between the Blue Jays and Tigers. Gose’s career looked to have stalled out, but the former two-way star in high school reinvented himself as a relief pitcher back in 2017-19 and has now pitched in parts of three MLB seasons — all with Cleveland.
Gose made his major league debut as a full-time pitcher in 2021 and has now pitched 32 MLB frames with a 4.78 ERA, a 29.7% strikeout rate and a 12.3% walk rate. Injuries, most notably Tommy John surgery, have limited his time on the mound and impacted him when healthy. He’s also missed time with a triceps strain, a calf strain and shoulder soreness since moving to the mound.
Between those injuries and the fact that he’s now approaching his 35th birthday, perhaps it shouldn’t be all that surprising that Gose’s heater has lost some life. When he first moved to the mound, he was brandishing a blazing four-seamer that averaged better than 99 mph and reached triple digits at times. He sat 95.7 mph in both Triple-A and the big leagues last year, and he’s dipped further to an average of 94.6 mph in 2025.
Gose has pitched 23 innings with the Mets’ affiliate in Syracuse and logged a 4.30 ERA, 24.5% strikeout rate, 13.7% walk rate and 30.6% ground-ball rate. He started the season pitching quite well, yielding a 3.31 ERA through his first 16 1/3 innings, but he’s been hit hard over the past few weeks; dating back to May 17, Gose pitched in six games and was rocked for seven runs (five earned) on nine hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.
The D-backs are starved for arms, having recently lost Justin Martinez to Tommy John surgery, Christian Montes De Oca to back surgery and Kendall Graveman to a hip injury. Lefty A.J. Puk has been out since early April due to elbow troubles. Over in the rotation, Corbin Burnes recently suffered a UCL tear that necessitated Tommy John surgery as well. The D-backs have added righties Anthony DeSclafani and Tayler Scott in recent weeks, and Gose will now add another left-handed option to the depth chart.
Mets’ Anthony Gose, Jon Singleton Trigger Upward Mobility Clauses
Mets minor leaguers Anthony Gose and Jon Singleton each triggered upward mobility clauses in their contracts, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. That requires New York to offer them to other teams. If another club is willing to give either player a big league roster spot, the Mets would need to call them up themselves or let them head elsewhere (likely in a trade for cash).
Gose signed a minor league deal last December and was with the Mets in Spring Training. He worked six innings of one-run ball in camp. Gose has pitched 15 times for Triple-A Syracuse, pitching to a solid 3.31 earned run average over 16 1/3 frames. He has fanned a quarter of opponents but is walking more than 15% of batters faced. That’s par for the course for Gose, a former outfielder with a mid-90s fastball and scattershot command.
The Mets are stretched on left-handed relief depth after the A.J. Minter and Danny Young injuries. They called up minor league signee Génesis Cabrera to work as Carlos Mendoza’s primary southpaw. They added a second lefty last night, acquiring José Castillo in a DFA trade with the Diamondbacks. Gose has a relatively clear path to the big leagues in Queens, though they’ve already added two other depth arms to their bullpen instead of promoting him.
Singleton, a lefty-hitting first baseman, was in camp with the Astros. Houston released him at the end of Spring Training. He signed a minor league deal with New York at the beginning of April. He has appeared in 33 Triple-A games, batting .216/.358/.432 with seven home runs.
He’s hitting for power and drawing plenty of walks, but he has fanned in nearly 30% of his plate appearances. Singleton had a career-high 405 trips to the plate with Houston last year, batting .234/.321/.386 with 13 homers. With Brett Baty hitting well since being recalled two weeks ago, the Mets probably wouldn’t have room for Singleton if another team were willing to call him up.
Mets To Sign Anthony Gose, Luis Ortiz To Minor League Deals
The Mets have minor league deals in place with left-hander Anthony Gose and right-hander Luis Ortiz, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Both pitchers also receive invites to major league spring training.
Gose, 34, spent many years as a position player in the majors but didn’t find much success and converted to the mound. In that role, he has intrigued with some high velocity and strikeout potential but has also shown control issues.
He tossed 27 2/3 innings for the Guardians over 2021 and 2022, allowing 3.90 earned runs per nine. He averaged 97.6 miles per hour on his fastball and struck out 31.9% of batters faced but also gave out free passes at a 13.8% clip. Tommy John surgery wiped out his entire 2023 season. He returned to the mound in 2024 but only got into three big league games. He tossed 44 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level with a 3.22 ERA, 30.7% strikeout rate and 14.1% walk rate.
Gose is clearly a bit of a project, despite his age. He’s only really been pitching for a few years and the big surgery layoff put things on pause for a while. A 34-year-old with ongoing control problems might be considered a lost cause but Gose is perhaps a special case due to his unusual trajectory. If he can harness his stuff a bit better, there’s intriguing potential there. He has less than four years of service time and can be retained beyond 2025 if he has a roster spot at season’s end, though he is out of options.
Ortiz, 29, is not to be confused with the Luis Ortiz who was recently traded from the Pirates to the Guardians. This Ortiz has pitched for the Orioles and Giants before spending the past two years with the Phillies. He has tossed 34 innings over five different MLB seasons with a 4.76 ERA, 16.3% strikeout rate, 10.5% walk rate and 48.6% ground ball rate.
He only made one big league appearance in 2024 and only five in the minors. He missed time due to ankle and shoulder injuries before undergoing Tommy John surgery in July. He will therefore miss most or perhaps all of the 2025 campaign. From 2021 to 2023, he tossed 155 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.58 ERA, 24.4% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate. If he eventually gets a roster spot, he still has one option season and less than two years of service time.
11 Players Elect Free Agency
As the offseason nears, a number of players elect minor league free agency each week. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.
Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. These transactions are all reflected on the MiLB.com log.
Catchers
- Seby Zavala (Mariners)
Infielders
- Keston Hiura (Angels)
Outfielders
- Edward Olivares (Pirates)
Pitchers
- Dan Altavilla (Royals)
- Matt Andriese (Marlins)
- Aaron Brooks (Athletics)
- Justin Bruihl (Pirates)
- Paolo Espino (Blue Jays)
- Anthony Gose (Guardians)
- Geoff Hartlieb (Rockies)
- Jake Woodford (Pirates)
Guardians Release Scott Barlow, Outright Anthony Gose
The Guardians released veteran right-hander Scott Barlow and outrighted lefty Anthony Gose to Triple-A Columbus, according to the transaction log at MLB.com. Cleveland had designated both relievers for assignment in recent days. The Guardians announced that Gose accepted his assignment. He can be selected back to the big league roster whenever the team needs a fresh arm, and Barlow’s release creates an opening to do so rather easily.
Barlow pitched in 63 games for the Guardians this year. Cleveland acquired the right-hander in an offseason swap that sent Enyel De Los Santos to the Padres. It was a rare trade in which the Guardians took on a fairly significant salary — he ultimately settled on a $6.7MM deal for his final year of arbitration — to add the more established player. Barlow had been the Royals’ closer in recent seasons and worked in high-leverage spots with San Diego in the second half of last year.
That track record initially earned him important innings with Cleveland. Barlow had pitched fairly well through the season’s first few months. A tough second half had increasingly pushed him down the leverage hierarchy for skipper Stephen Vogt, however. Barlow has allowed nearly six earned runs per nine with a diminished 18.9% strikeout rate since the All-Star Break. He had fanned more than 32% of batters faced with a 3.52 ERA in 38 1/3 innings during the season’s first half.
Barlow’s overall numbers are passable. He has a 4.25 ERA with an above-average 28.2% strikeout percentage and a grounder rate above 47%. His 12.9% walk rate is high but not dramatically above last season’s 11.4% mark. The late-season dip in performance was concerning, though, and that’s especially true considering Barlow’s velocity. He had averaged 95 MPH on his fastball and 84-85 on his slider during his best seasons with Kansas City. Those respective marks dipped to 93 and 83 last year and are down further this season. Barlow’s slider has checked in around 81 MPH all year. His fastball had dipped to the 90-91 range in the last couple months.
The Guardians remain on the hook for the final few weeks of Barlow’s salary. He surpassed six years of major league service this season and would have been a free agent during the upcoming offseason in any case. Barlow could try to sign with another contender for the final couple weeks of the regular season, but he would not be eligible for postseason play. He may choose to look ahead to next offseason. Barlow could still find a big league deal going into 2025, though he’s unlikely to land the multi-year contract that seemed it’d be on the table a couple months ago.
As for Gose, an outright was the expected outcome after Cleveland designated him for assignment for the fourth time in the last month. The southpaw had the right to elect free agency but is clearly comfortable with the organization, as he either accepted an outright or re-signed on a minor league deal shortly after each of his previous DFAs. Gose has made three MLB appearances this season, allowing five runs in 4 1/3 innings. He carries a 3.27 ERA with huge strikeout (32.8%) and walk (14.7%) rates over 41 1/3 frames with Columbus.
Guardians Designate Anthony Gose For Assignment
The Guardians designated left-hander Anthony Gose for assignment … again. Cleveland announced Monday that Gose has been DFA in favor of fellow southpaw Joey Cantillo, who has been recalled from Triple-A Columbus.
It’s the fourth DFA of the past month for the out-of-options Gose, who has fully embraced the depth role in which the Guardians have placed him. He can’t be optioned to the minors, so Cleveland has continually designated him for assignment and passed him through waivers, at which point Gose has either accepted an outright assignment or briefly elected free agency and near-immediately re-signed on a new minor league deal.
It’s an odd cycle but not an entirely unfamiliar one. The Yankees have gone this route with righties David Hale and Ryan Weber in the past. The Marlins have done the same this year with lefty Kent Emanuel, just as they did with Devin Smeltzer in 2023. Gose is clearly fine with the tumultuous and somewhat unconventional arrangement, as he’s getting frequent MLB service time and pay out of it and agreeing to return to the organization each time. Granted, not all of those situations featured such rapid-fire selections to the majors and immediate DFAs, but it’s conceptually the same scenario.
Gose allowed two runs in an inning of work during his most recent brief stint with the Guards. He’s pitched in three games this season and yielded runs in all of them, combining for five runs on nine hits and a walk with four strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. He’s posted better run-prevention numbers in Triple-A, logging a 3.27 earned run average with a hearty 32.8% strikeout rate against a more troubling 14.7% walk rate.
The 2024 season is Gose’s first year back from a Tommy John procedure that wiped out his entire 2023 campaign. A former second-round pick who ranked as one of the top prospects in the game during his days as a center fielder, he’s still looking to establish himself as a viable big league option in the bullpen. Gose has pitched 32 innings in the majors since making the switch to the mound and recorded a 4.78 ERA with big strikeout numbers (29.7%) and also big walk issues (12.3%).
A two-way star in high school who had some draft interest as a pitcher, Gose was brandishing a fastball that averaged 99.3 mph when he made his mound debut in 2021. He’s since undergone elbow surgery and seen that average heater dip to 95.2 mph — still a well above-average mark (particularly for a lefty), but not the same type of overpowering offering it was a few years back. Gose is still piling up strikeouts in Triple-A, but the command of his fastball/slider combination is a work in progress. He’ll head back to waivers and likely clear quickly before returning to the Guardians, whether via outright assignment or again electing free agency and signing a new minor league pact while he awaits his next call to the majors.
Guardians Designate Scott Barlow For Assignment
The Guardians have designated right-hander Scott Barlow for assignment, according to MLB.com’s Transactions Tracker. Taking his spot on the 40-man and active rosters will be left-hander Anthony Gose, whose contract was selected according to Gose’s MLB.com Player Page.
Barlow, 31, was acquired by the Guardians in a trade with the Padres last November that sent right-hander Enyel De Los Santos to San Diego. A longtime Royals relief arm who emerged as the club’s top leverage arm during the 2021 season, Barlow pitched to an excellent 2.30 ERA and 3.13 FIP in 148 2/3 innings between 2021 and ’22 while striking out 28.2% of batters faced and racking up 40 saves.
Unfortunately, he took a step back in 2023 with a somewhat uneven season. While his numbers under the hood during his time with the Royals last year, including a 26.7% strikeout rate and a 4.04 SIERA, offered plenty of reason for optimism, he struggled in terms of preventing runs and ultimately surrendered a 5.35 ERA in 38 2/3 innings of work before being shipped to the Padres at the trade deadline. Once in uniform with San Diego, Barlow pitched much better down the stretch with a 3.07 ERA and 3.15 FIP in his final 29 1/3 innings last year. That seemed to leave Barlow poised to occupy a key role with the Padres in the late innings this year, but he was ultimately shipped to the Guardians as part of an effort to slash the club’s payroll and duck under the luxury tax for 2024.
That allowed the Guardians step in and take the opportunity to add Barlow to their already excellent bullpen, where he was poised to act as one of the top setup men for closer Emmanuel Clase. For much of the season, the right-hander performed that role admirably with a 3.12 ERA and 3.50 FIP in 43 1/3 innings of work through the end of July. Things took a sharp turn for the worse once the calendar flipped to August, however, and Barlow was shelled to the tune of an 8.49 ERA in 11 2/3 innings of work. The right-hander has seemed lost on the mound for over a month now, with a 17.9% strikeout rate against a 10.7% walk rate to go along with three hit batters and two home runs over his last 13 appearances. As the Guardians look to fend off the Royals and Twins in the AL Central and earn a bye through the Wild Card Series this October, the club evidently felt they couldn’t afford to continue giving the righty opportunities to get right.
Barlow’s departure makes way for Gose, 34, on the big league roster. Once a top-100 prospect as a hitter with the Phillies, he struggled through five seasons in the majors with a below average .240/.309/.348 slash line in 372 career games and eventually decided to try converting to pitching. He resurfaced in the big leagues as a reliever in Cleveland back in 2021, impressing with a six-appearance cup of coffee that saw him strike out 37.5% of opponents and post a 1.35 ERA. Gose sported a respectable 3.90 ERA and 4.17 FIP in 27 2/3 innings of work as pitcher for his career when he underwent Tommy John surgery in September of 2022, and he spent the entire 2023 season rehabbing.
Now back in action with the Guardians, Gose surrendered three runs in 3 1/3 innings of work during a brief cup of coffee earlier this year but has posted a solid 3.27 ERA in 41 1/3 frames at the Triple-A level. He’ll get another opportunity with the big league club down the stretch as he looks to establish himself as a viable relief option for the 2025 campaign, whether that’s with Cleveland or elsewhere.
Guardians Re-Sign Anthony Gose To Minor League Deal
The Guardians have re-signed left-hander Anthony Gose to a minor league deal, according to the transactions tracker on Gose’s player profile at MLB.com. The signing came together on August 31, meaning that Gose would be eligible to pitch for Cleveland in the postseason should the club choose to add him back to the 40-man roster.
Gose, 34, was once a second-round pick by the Phillies in the 2008 draft. He was a top-100 prospect as a hitter after making some noise as a two-way player during his prep days, but after struggling through five seasons in the majors with below average offensive results (he’s a .240/.309/.348 hitter for his career) the lefty decided to return to pitching. He resurfaced in the big leagues as a reliever in Cleveland back in 2021, impressing with a six-appearance cup of coffee that saw him strike out 37.5% of opponents and post a 1.35 ERA.
Since then, he’s accumulated an additional 24 big league appearances with the Guardians. The majority of those came back in 2022, when he pitched to a lackluster 4.71 ERA with a 5.06 FIP in 21 frames. While he still struck out an impressive 30.4% of opponents during that stretch, Gose walked an untenable 15.2% of batters faced and allowed four homers in his limited body of work, minimizing the impact of the high-octane arsenal he offers. Gose’s attempted comeback as a pitcher was complicated further when he underwent Tommy John surgery that September, wiping out the entirety of his 2023 season.
Gose returned to action at the start of the 2024 campaign and put up solid numbers at the Triple-A level with a 3.46 ERA and a 32.9% strikeout rate in 39 innings of work. That strong body of work is enough for the lefty to have earned a couple of opportunities at the big league level with Cleveland, although those have not gone well. In 3 1/3 innings of work across his two appearances with the Guardians this year, Gose has surrendered three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out two. That led the club to designate Gose for assignment last week, and while he initially elected free agency he evidently decided to return to the club shortly thereafter on a fresh minor league contract.
That will allow Gose to not only continue acting as a non-roster depth option for the Guardians’ bullpen down the stretch, but it also leaves the door open to Gose making the club’s postseason roster. Of course, for that to come to pass Gose would surely not only have to return to the big leagues before the regular season comes to an end but also flash results more in line with his strong minor league numbers than his brief stint in the majors this year.