Astros: The Anthony Gose experiment appears to be over

Anthony Gose’s second stint with the Astros was longer than his first, but he was rumored to be placed on waivers.

Days after Anthony Gose made his debut with the Houston Astros. His future is up in the air. According to Jake Kaplan, Gose was placed on placed on outright waivers According to sources. After being a Rule 5 pick this December from the Rangers, this means his time with the Astros is likely over.

If no one claims Gose, he will then be returned to the Rangers. If I remember correctly, the Astros would then offer Gose back to the Rangers. Should they decline, they may have the option to keep him? Claiming Gose was a low risk and high reward transaction. If he excelled, he would have been an asset to the team.

Whatever the reasoning behind the move is, the Astros are sending a message that they want only the best. Gose could have come along in his next appearance more focused, but the Astros didn’t want to waste time. In my untrained eyes, it looked like he was just slinging the ball instead of pitching.

He could be claimed.

Some other team who is not in contention could place a claim on him, but the same rules apply. He did show some velocity, reportedly hitting 100 mph at one point in his appearance Saturday versus the Nationals. Despite the velocity and a good curveball, Gose walked three hitters on 19 pitches.

As I wrote the other day, he would pitch high and away versus the right-handed hitters and throw down and away versus the lefties. With time and more seasoning, he could be a valuable piece to someone’s bullpen. It just doesn’t appear to be the Astros who are World Series contenders again in 2018.

We discussed Gose on Talking Stros this week.

Not needed right now.

Another reason that the Astros could have parted ways with Gose is how well Tony Sipp is pitching this Spring. Also, it has been beneficial to have competition this year with Buddy Boshers, Reymin Guduan, Cionel Perez, and Gose.

Whether it’s Sipp’s walk year or the competition, Sipp seems to have righted the ship. However, this is spring training, but there are $6 million reasons for Sipp to be that guy this year. Now the team knows that if Sipp doesn’t perform this year, they have other options at the Triple-A level.

On the positive side, the decision so soon on waiving Gose could be to help him catch on with another team. In reality, there is no way that Gose would make the Astros 25-man roster. Now he had a chance to go to another team with the hopes of a chance to develop.

Next: Astros: Dallas Keuchel makes spring debut and Opening Day news

When Jeff Luhnow and the Astros selected him in the Rule V draft, he raved about Gose’s raw talent. They could still feel that way and could find a way to retain him, but the Astros appear to be moving on. Don’t blame Luhnow for taking that risk. It doesn’t hurt the 2018 Astros one bit. Now they have an open spot on the 40-man roster. Let’s go Stros!

***Stats from Baseball-Reference***