Joey Gallo has struck out nearly 1,300 times in his MLB career, and now he will be trying to get some of those strikeouts back.
The veteran hitter Gallo made the surprise announcement on social media Sunday that he plans to transition to pitching ahead of his 11th MLB season. Gallo posted a farewell video to the outfield (featuring some of his best career catches and throws) and closed things out by saying, “Just to be clear, I will be pitching.”
The news comes as Gallo, a non-roster invitee to Spring Training, was officially released by the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. Sox assistant GM Josh Barfield revealed that Gallo, who had gone 2-for-20 in spring with 11 strikeouts, had asked for his release in order to pursue pitching.
“He had expressed interest through his agent if it didn’t work out on the Major League team, that he was going to explore the pitching side,” Barfield said in an interview with MLB.com. “I know it’s something he’s been dabbling around with in between some of the reps here. But he asked for his release today. So, we accommodated that.”
The 31-year-old Gallo, a two-time MLB All-Star with multiple seasons of 40 home runs or more under his belt, has not been an effective hitter for years now. He hasn’t reached the .200 mark in a single season since 2019 and hit a hapless .161 over 76 games last season for the Washington Nationals.
Gallo did have some experience pitching as a teenager, starring as a two-way player for Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nev. Now that Gallo is facing a midlife crisis of sorts (with his struggles at the plate in recent years going to real extremes), he has decided to give his old friend the mound a try once again.
