Former Yankee Joey Gallo is apparently making a major change to his job description.
The former All-Star was released by the White Sox on Sunday, and Gallo responded by posting a highlight reel of himself gunning down runners from the outfield, which ended with a quick clip of him in a Chicago uniform throwing a pitch from a bullpen mound. Gallo quickly cleared up any confusion by responding to his own post with the message, “I will be pitching.”
That’s right, Gallo will be going the reverse Rick Ankiel route and try his hand at pitching, which he did in high school before being drafted in the first round by the Rangers. He was one of the premier home run hitters in the game in his prime with Texas, but after being traded to the Yankees in 2021, his offense cratered. He hit just .159 with a .660 OPS in pinstripes before being traded to the Dodgers, and has bounced around the league ever since. Now, at 31 years old and after 10 big-league seasons, he is putting the bat down.
It isn’t wildly outlandish given the hose Gallo has boasted from the outfield across his career. Gallo has shown one of the strongest outfield arms in baseball across his career, averaging in the mid-90s on throws from the outfield as recently as 2023.
We’ll see if Gallo can turn his big pivot into a big-league return.