Detroit Tigers: Anthony Gose Sent Home From Triple-A Game
The Detroit Tigers are investigating why Triple-A Toledo outfielder Anthony Gose did not report to Sunday’s game, after being sent home early by manager Lloyd McClendon on Saturday.
Toledo Mud Hens outfielder Anthony Gose is in trouble with the Detroit Tigers, after the 25-year-old failed to show up for Sunday’s game against the Louisville Bats.
The outfielder was sent home in the third inning of Saturday’s first game against the Bats, and did not return for the second game of the doubleheader. Gose was seen arguing in the dugout with Mud Hens skipper Lloyd McClendon. After the game, Gose’s locker had been cleaned out completely.
Aaron McMann of Mlive.com reported that Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus called the actions of Triple-A outfielder Anthony Gose “concerning”, but the Tigers manager added, “It’s certainly not anything that can’t be dealt with or gotten past.”
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McMann also reported that Tigers assistant general manager David Chadd stated that discipline would be at the discretion of McClendon, general manager Al Avila, and vice president for player development Dave Littlefield.
While the Tigers are still learning about the incident, it’s likely that Gose’s frustration with his own performance and his consistent demotions have led to tensions between the former highly-regarded prospect and Tigers brass.
Gose was traded to Detroit by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2014 in exchange for Devon Travis, and he was the Tigers’ primary center fielder last year. The acquisitions of Justin Upton and Cameron Maybin squeezed the light-hitting Gose out of a major league roster spot, relegating him to Toledo.
With the big league club, Gose hit just .209/.287/.341 in 30 at-bats this year, slugging two home runs and failing to steal any bases. In Triple-A, Gose has fared even worse: a .185/.255/.266 line. He’s stolen six bases and hit a home run in his 50 games with the Mud Hens, but those are hardly numbers that will get him called back up to the majors.
These struggles have led to another demotion: Gose has become a reserve outfielder ever since the promotion of prospect JaCoby Jones. Jones has posted just a .647 OPS since being moved up to Toledo, but through his first 20 games with Double-A, he hit .312/.393/.597. Even with his struggles in Triple-A, he’s still done a better job than Gose, and he has consequently taken over the starting center fielder role.
At one point, Gose was a top 50 prospect, known mostly for his speed and outstanding defense. He was constantly making plays like this one:
Hopefully, the Tigers and Gose will work out their problems, Gose will return to being a moderately-productive hitter, and fans will be treated to plenty more of these web gems. It’s pretty rare for a player to just go off in this manner, no matter how poorly their season is going, but it’s not unheard of. Baseball isn’t much fun for players who aren’t getting the results they want.
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Minor league clubs have an All-Star break this week as well, so Gose has until Thursday to cool off and return the calls of Detroit’s front office personnel, all of whom have said he would be welcomed back to the team – but he’s certainly going to face some discipline for his actions.