Red Sox sign Daniel Gossett to a minor-league deal

The Red Sox are certainly, at some point, going to add some major-league talent to their rotation and it is a secret to absolutely nobody that this is necessary for them to move into the coming season. They also need some extra depth, though, particularly given all the uncertainty that lies ahead in 2021. On Monday, they added a little bit to that latter category by adding right-handed pitcher Daniel Gossett to a minor-league deal. This comes according to a report by Bob Nightengale.

As the report above says, the Red Sox did indeed draft Gossett in 2011 as part of that now-famous draft class, but he did not sign. He was later a second selection by the Athletics, the only organization for whom he has pitched prior to this point in this major-league career. The righty rose fairly steadily through the minors after being drafted in 2014, eventually making his major-league debut in 2017.

Gossett pitched parts of two seasons in the majors with the Athletics, tossing a total of 115 ²⁄₃ innings for Oakland over the course of 23 starts, pitching to a 5.91 ERA with 84 strikeouts and 39 walks. Most of that work came in 2017 and he would go down in 2018, eventually requiring Tommy John surgery. He was set to make his comeback this past season in 2020, but as Nightengale notes he was released right before the start of the shortened regular season.

The major-league track record is far from exciting here, but it is worth noting he had success in the minors with a 3.42 career ERA there, including a 2.87 ERA in Triple-A over 21 starts and two relief appearances. Gossett, now 28, did also pitch in the Arizona Fall League late in 2019, pitching to a 2.57 ERA with 12 strikeouts and three walks over 14 innings. Before his injury, according to Baseball Savant, his fastball sat in the low 90s and his slider was his best pitch. He relied most heavily on those two pitches in 2018, though the year before he had a larger arsenal.

The deal is of the minor-league variety, so there is no corresponding 40-man move needed. There is no indication whether or not there will be an invitation to spring training, though given his experience at the highest level there likely will be. At this point it’s hard to see a path to the Opening Day roster unless there is an avalanche of camp injuries and/or he looks great in Fort Myers, and he’ll more likely start the year as part of Worcester’s rotation, provided he doesn’t have an opt out at the end of spring training which, again, there is no indication either way this point.