Former Detroit Tigers outfielder Anthony Gose has found a home for the 2018 season, as Gose has signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers, according to Anthony Fenech of Free Press Sports in Detroit. Fenech adds that Gose, who converted to pitching in 2017, will play both ways in the Rangers’ system.
Gose was originally drafted as an outfielder in the second round of the 2008 MLB Entry Level Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies before being shipped to the Houston Astros in the Roy Oswalt trade in 2010. Gose was then shipped to the Toronto Blue Jays in the Brett Wallace deal and then went to Detroit in a deal for Devon Travis.
Gose last appeared in the major leagues in 2016 with Detroit as an outfielder, where he posted a slash line of .209/.287/.341 in a mere 30 games. During spring training in 2017, after being demoted to the minor league camp, the team decided to try Gose as a left-handed pitcher, which Gose had previously played as in high school.
Gose made his first pitching appearance on May 22, 2017 with Detroit’s High-A affiliate, the Lakeland Flying Tigers, and finished the year with 11 games. Despite boasting a fastball that reached 99 miles per hour, Gose did not have much success, posting an ERA of 7.59 in nearly 11 innings of work.
While Texas has said Gose will be a two-way player, Gose still presents great speed and good defense despite his hitting ability lagging behind. On 80 stolen base attempts throughout his career, Gose has 57 steals, including a career-high of 23 in 2015.
As for his defensive ability, Gose has displayed quality play in the outfield, despite committing a few errors. If his experiment of being a pitcher fails to progress, he could have a nice fallback plan to be a speedy bench option in the major leagues.
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