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Dustin McGowan

Former MLB Hurler Dustin McGowan Takes HS Coaching Job

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Once a first-round pick and top-100 prospect, Dustin McGowan has already battled back from the brink once. But he won’t be launching another effort to reestablish himself in the majors — unless, perhaps, some of the kids he’ll soon be coaching can put him up to the task.

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.

Released: Tazawa, McGowan, Cunningham, Campos

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Several players have recently gone onto the open market after being released by their respective organizations:

  • 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.

Marlins Sign Dustin McGowan To Minor League Deal

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The Marlins have finalized their minor league deal with right-hander Dustin McGowan, per Baseball America’s Matt Eddy. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo and MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reported last week that the Fish were in talks with the ACES client on a new minor league deal after he was released by the Rays in Spring Training. Presumably, McGowan will head to Triple-A for the time being.

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.

Marlins Reportedly In Talks With Dustin McGowan

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The Marlins are discussing a deal with free-agent righty Dustin McGowan, tweets SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo. The veteran reliever was in Spring Training with the Rays on a minor league deal but was granted his release in early March when he learned he would not make the 25-man roster. He’s represented by ACES.

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.

Rays Release Dustin McGowan

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Veteran right-hander Dustin McGowan, who has been in camp with the Rays on a minor league contract, was informed by the team that he would not make the Opening Day roster and has been released, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Topkin noted (on Twitter) that out of respect to McGowan, the organization offered him the chance to remain in camp and keep working out as he searched for a new opportunity with another organization, though he appears to have declined that offer.

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.

Rays To Sign Dustin McGowan

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The Rays have struck a minor-league deal with righty Dustin McGowan, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (via Twitter). He’ll receive an invitation to MLB camp and would earn a $1.5MM salary in the majors, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter).

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.

Marlins To Re-Sign Dustin McGowan

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DECEMBER 12: McGowan receives a $1.75MM guarantee, Heyman tweets.

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

Marlins Designate Craig Breslow, Select Dustin McGowan

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The Marlins have designated southpaw Craig Breslow for assignment, as MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro first reported on Twitter. His roster spot will go to right-hander Dustin McGowan, whose contract was selected from Triple-A.

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.

Marlins Designate Chris Narveson, Outright Dustin McGowan

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The Marlins have announced that lefty Chris Narveson has been designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to recalled righty Jose Urena. Meanwhile, the club has outrighted right-hander Dustin McGowan, who was previously in DFA limbo.

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.

Marlins Designate Dustin McGowan For Assignment

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The Marlins have designated right-handed reliever Dustin McGowan for assignment and recalled fellow righty Kyle Barraclough to take his place on the roster, the team announced.

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.

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