After bouncing around a few organizations in the minor leagues, outfielder Anthony Gose seemed to have found a home with the Toronto Blue Jays, who began to groom Gose to be their center fielder for the future. Gose made his debut in 2012 and then was up and down the next few years between Triple-A and the majors. He was a player with undeniable potential but couldn't quite figure it out offensively.

However, his speed made him a desirable center fielder and Toronto stuck with Gose through 2014. However, Toronto saw more warning signs than his low batting average when concerning Gose, who often conflicted with management about his playing time in Toronto and semi-frequent demotions to Triple-A. As his time with Toronto came to a close, Gose was rumored to frequently voice his displeasure about his lack of playing time. Sensing trouble from Gose, Toronto dealt their once prized prospect to the Detroit Tigers in the offseason following the 2014 season. 

Gose put together a solid season for Detroit in 2015, batting .254 and stealing 23 bases. However, he struck out an alarming 145 times in 140 games. He walked just 45 times, which added up to just a .321 on-base percentage. However, given his speed both in the outfield and on the basepaths made him a mainstay in Detroit's lineup, even with his average offensive statistics. His range factor per nine innings (2.86) was .2 points higher than the league average, making him a valuable asset defensively. Gose returned to Detroit in 2016, and his offense was worse than ever before.

Terrible start in Detroit leads to Gose's demotion

Some people believe you can judge the general direction a team or player's season is going to go based off their Opening Day performance. This was untrue in Gose's case. On Opening Day for the Tigers, Gose put in a 2-5 performance with a home run. In fact, after six games, Gose was hitting a respectable .273. However, as was always a concern with Gose, the strikeouts were a concern - Gose fanned eight times in those six times. Gose continued to strikeout, but he failed to hit consistently.

He fell into a 3-33 slump that dropped his batting average to .170. He continued to struggle offensively, his batting average rising just above the Mendoza Line and struggling to stay there. In his 30 games with the Tigers, Gose recorded 13 multi-strikeout games, whiffing a total of 38 times in his time in the MLB this season. Finally, hitting .209, Gose was demoted to Triple-A in mid-May. 

Anthony Gose struggled  miserably at Triple-A.BLADE/JETTA FRASER

Gose struggles miserably; demoted again

Most every MLB player endures some type of struggle during their career. Separating the great players from those who fizzled out quickly was how they bounced back from those struggles. So far, Gose has not impressed with how he bounces back from his struggles. Sent to Triple-A to work on his approach, Gose did anything but that, posting numbers that are cringe-worthy for the worst of minor leaguers, let alone a 4-year major league player. Gose hit just .185 in 50 games with AAA Toledo. He struck out a whopping 75 times, an average of 1.5 strikeouts per game. While his miserable numbers weren't impressing anyone in the Detroit front office, neither was his attitude off the field.

After an incident with his manager during the first game of a doubleheader on July 9th, in what was described as a 'loud, animated dugout discussion' by teammates, Gose was pulled from the game and banished from the dugout. Gose then did not show up for the team's Sunday series finale. It was certainly not the best thing to do given the fact that Gose is trying to work his way back to the MLB. Due to the incident with his manager plus his horrendous statistics, Gose was demoted all the way to Double-A Erie, the first time he had been at that low of a level since 2011. 

Gose continues to be unimpressive in Double-A

Entering Tuesday's series-opener against the Portland Sea Dogs, Gose had played 15 games with the Erie Seawolves. And, if he was looking to make a case for a promotion back to Toledo, at the very least, he has failed to make that case. His numbers are even worse than they were in Toledo. Entering Tuesday's game, Gose was hitting just .125, with 6 hits in 48 at-bats. He has struck out 17 times in his fifteen games. His number of walks (11) has improved, but other than that, Gose has looked simply terrible.

His approach at the plate has been awful. He often swings at the first pitch and either makes an out early in the at-bat, or ends up swinging at ugly pitches in the dirt to go down on strikes. He also has made an error in center field, which is particularly bad, because he needs to prove himself as a superb fielder to cover up from slightly below average offense. So far he has not provided excellent defense or even acceptable offense. In Tuesday's game, facing Teddy Stankiewicz, who features a 5.24 ERA, Gose struck out twice and skied a high fly out to left field on the first pitch of another at-bat, lowering his batting average to a dismal .118. 

Gose may have already closed the door on his future with the Tigers. But, with the attitude he is playing with, and the numbers he is posting, he may be quickly closing any avenue he has left to landing a contract if/when the Tigers eventually part ways the Gose. 

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