Royals sign reliever who was a huge beneficiary of Guardians’ pitching factory 

After spending the first five years of his big league career as a position player, Anthony Gose made the mid-career switch to becoming a pitcher. That long, winding journey ended with Gose spending parts of three seasons working out of the Guardians’ bullpen. 

But his time with the Guardians came to an end midway through the 2024 season which set off yet another journey where he bounced between minor league teams and leagues. 

That journey added another chapter on Tuesday when he inked a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals. He’ll join the club’s Triple-A team in Omaha. 

Although Gose never became a true impact arm in the Guardians’ system, the fact that he made it into Cleveland’s bullpen is incredibly impressive. 

But all of the work that the Guardians’ put in to help turn Gose into a big league pitcher could end up becoming the Royals’ gain.

Former Guardians pitcher Anthony Gose lands in Royals' minor league system

Gose made his debut with the Guardians at the end of 2021 and allowed one run across 6 1/3 innings. That set up a 2022 season where Gose worked a career-high 21 innings with a  4.71 ERA. 

That June was Gose at the height of his powers, as he ended the month with seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts. Although he still had some predictable command struggles (five walks), he started to prove that his fastball could play. 

But he allowed four runs in 2/3 of an inning in his lone appearance in July before going on the injured list with an elbow injury that eventually resulted in him undergoing Tommy John surgery. 

The Guardians designated him for assignment after the season and re-signed him to two-year minor league contract that allowed for him to rehab without taking up a big league roster spot (it’s the same kind of contract that Ben Lively’s currently signed to). 

He made his return to Cleveland’s roster in 2024 and appeared in 4 1/3 innings before being designated for assignment again. 

He appeared in 35 games last season across his time with the Mets and D-backs’ Triple-A teams and posted a 6.08 ERA with 23 walks and 41 strikeouts. 

Instead of signing a minor league deal with a team in the offseason, he signed with the los Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League and tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts. 

Now he could work his way into a Royals bullpen that’s been one of the worst in baseball. While former Guardian Eli Morgan has pitched well in Kansas City’s bullpen, the Royals sent him down to Triple-A on Monday so they could add some fresh arms. 

It’s another example of the kind of shuffling that’s become the norm for the Royals this season. It may not be long until Gose is a part of that shuffling. 

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