For the past four seasons, former All-Star outfielder Joey Gallo hasn’t had the kind of impact that most have come to expect of him. And after being released on Sunday by the Chicago White Sox, Gallo announced on social media that he plans to pave a new path to continue his MLB career.
Long gone are the days where Gallo has provided all that much of a boost offensively. Not only have the amount of home runs declined rapidly, but Gallo’s inability to make contact has been painfully obvious in recent years.
In fact, for the past four seasons, Gallo’s batting average has sat below the Mendoza line, which has simply made it hard for any team to justify playing him despite his track record as a gold glove outfielder in the past.
Gallo’s attempt to revive his career with the White Sox heading into the 2025 season was a short lived one. After going 2-20 at the plate this spring training, the White Sox and Gallo have mutually decided to go their separate ways after Gallo made it clear to White Sox assistant general manager Josh Barfield that he wanted to be released if he wasn’t going to make the major league roster.
“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,” White Sox assistant general manager Josh Barfield told MLB.com of Gallo’s thought process. “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.”
As Barfield alluded to, it didn’t take Gallo too long to announce publically on social media that he does indeed plan to pursue pitching at the MLB level.
“It’s been fun outfield,” said Gallo. “Just to be clear, I will be pitching.”
Just to be clear, I will be pitching.
— Joey Gallo (@JoeyGallo24) March 16, 2025
Perhaps he will have more success as a pitcher than he has in recent years as an outfielder. But on paper, it certainly seems like a pretty drastic move to make at 31 years of age.
Either way, given the lack of interest Gallo seems to be getting around the league, perhaps this new path will perhaps get him some more attention from teams around the MLB should he have the kind of arm that it takes to pitch at the MLB level.
