Kansas City Royals sign former Toronto Blue Jays outfielder turned pitcher

The Kansas City Royals have signed left-handed reliever Anthony Gose to a minor league deal, per a club announcement. Gose 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.

The Blue Jays then traded Gose to the Tigers for second baseman Devon Travis.

Gose played parts of five seasons as an outfielder between Toronto and Detroit but managed only a .240/.309/.348 slash in 1252 big league plate appearances.

After struggling at the plate with the Tigers, Gose officially began his conversion from outfielder to pitcher following the 2016 MLB season, with the Detroit Tigers initiating the transition in March 2017.

After being reassigned to minor league camp in March 2017, Gose began throwing bullpens and made his professional pitching debut for the Lakeland Flying Tigers on May 22, 2017.

He spent several years in the minor leagues (Tigers, Rangers, Astros, and Guardians organizations) refining his control, missing the 2020 minor league season but competing for Team USA

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.

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.

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