Diamondbacks signing Anthony Gose, a reliever who used to play outfield

The Arizona Diamondbacks have signed left-handed reliever Anthony Gose, who spent his first five major league seasons as an outfielder, to a minor league deal, the Triple-A Reno Aces announced.

Additionally, Arizona signed veteran reliever Trevor Richards to a minor league contract.

Gose first made his way to the major leagues in 2012 as a highly-ranked outfield prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays. He previously committed to Arizona Wildcats baseball but opted to go pro as a second-round pick out of Bellflower High School in 2008.

After five seasons (three with Toronto and two with the Detroit Tigers) in which he struggled to find a footing, he made a change, converting to a pitcher who could hit 100 mph on the radar gun.

Tonight, Anthony Gose played in his first MLB game since 2016 after converting to a pitcher.

He was throwing a casual 💯. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/jwPeyH7a8y

— MLB (@MLB) September 21, 2021

He made his MLB pitching debut in 2021 but has thrown only 32 big league innings with a 4.78 ERA since making the change. He lost more than a year after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2022.

Gose returned last season, throwing to a 3.22 ERA in 44.2 innings for Triple-A Columbus in the Cleveland Guardians’ system. He made three appearances for Cleveland, his most recent MLB opportunity.

The 34-year-old pitched 23 innings in relief of the Triple-A Syracuse Mets this year with a 4.30 ERA and 25 strikeouts. He was released by the Mets on Monday.

The southpaw has a career strikeout rate of 29.7% and walk rate of 12.3% in MLB, both well above league average. His four-seamer last year (in a small sample size) averaged 95.7 mph, well down from 2021 when he averaged 99.3 mph pre-surgery. His slider has been his best swing-and-miss pitch.

Gose has also competed at the international level, pitching for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics during the summer of 2021 and more recently during the 2024 WBSC Premier12 tournament.

The veteran provides left-handed depth for a D-backs bullpen that has been a revolving door due to injuries and performance issues. Jalen Beeks and Kyle Backhus are Arizona’s two left-handers in the bullpen, presently.

Diamondbacks add Trevor Richards

Richards, a right-hander, has pitched in 293 MLB games since making his debut in 2018 for Miami. He pitched 65.1 innings last season between the Toronto Blue Jays and Minnesota Twins, throwing to a 4.55 ERA and 62 strikeouts.

He signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs over the offseason but did not make the team this spring. He found a major league opportunity with the Kansas City Royals, where he made three appearances before getting designated for assignment.

Richards has a career 4.54 ERA, balancing a low-90s mph fastball with his changeup. Opponents hit below .200 against his changeup every year from 2021-24.

Trevor Richards, Changeup release (Slow)

2831 RPMs pic.twitter.com/1lPrwaXMHT

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 7, 2023

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