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The Guardians announced that they have selected left-hander Anthony Gose to their roster. He had recently elected free agency but re-signed with the club on a minor league deal, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Lefty Logan Allen was optioned in a corresponding move. The club already had a 40-man vacancy and won’t need to make a corresponding move in that regard.

Gose, 34, has been on and off the Cleveland roster all year. This is the third time his contract has been selected. Since he is out of options, the two previous stints resulted in him being designated for assignment fairly quickly. The first instance resulted in him accepting an outright assignment. The second time, as mentioned, he elected free agency but quickly re-signed on a fresh minor league pact.

A former outfielder, Gose switched to pitching a few years ago. Perhaps unsurprisingly for a late convert, control has been an issue but he has racked up some tantalizing strikeout numbers. In 2022, he tossed 21 innings for the Guards, punching out 30.4% of batters faced. But he also gave out walks at a 15.2% clip, leading to a 4.71 earned run average.

He required Tommy John surgery at the end of that year, which led to him missing the entire 2023 season. The Guards signed him to a two-year minor league pact, which covered that lost year as well as the current campaign. Around his transactions, he has managed to throw 39 Triple-A innings this year with a 3.46 ERA. The 15% walk rate is still high but he’s also still getting the Ks, with a 32.9% rate this year.

The Guardians have Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee scheduled to start their next two games but then have an off-day on Thursday. By optioning Allen, they can add one extra bullpen arm to a relief mix that is fairly taxed after yesterday’s double-header. Given the way they’ve treated Gose this year, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he is designated for assignment again once the club needs another fresh bullpen arm or a fifth starter.

This article first appeared on MLB Trade Rumors and was syndicated with permission.

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Royals acquire outfield help in perplexing trade with Diamondbacks
MLB

Royals acquire outfield help in perplexing trade with Diamondbacks

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Cowboys make questionable move amid Micah Parsons stalemate 
NFL

Cowboys make questionable move amid Micah Parsons stalemate 

The Dallas Cowboys extended one of their stars Sunday, just not the one fans wanted them to pay. At Cowboys training camp Saturday, Dallas fans serenaded owner Jerry Jones with "Pay Micah [Parsons]" chants. The EDGE, of course, is set to play on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract this season. Jones must not have been listening. He gave tight end Jake Ferguson a new contract instead. Dallas and the 26-year-old pass-catcher agreed to a four-year, $52M contract extension, via NFL Media's Ian Rapoport. This move seems head-scratching. Parsons has won the 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year and earned two first-team All-Pro nods since the Cowboys took him with pick No. 12 in the 2021 NFL Draft. The 26-year-old EDGE also finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Ferguson, meanwhile, is solid but not elite. In three seasons with the Cowboys, the 2022 fourth-round pick has made one Pro Bowl and has never finished with more than 761 receiving yards in a season. An extension for Parsons will devour future cap space. The Cowboys may be worried about that after giving quarterback Dak Prescott (four years, $240M) and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (four years, $136M) long-term deals in 2024. Pittsburgh Steelers EDGE T.J. Watt signed a lucrative three-year, $123M extension on July 17, making him the league's highest-paid non-QB. Parsons could command a similar contract. If cap space is Dallas' primary concern, however, why would it extend Ferguson? He's now set to be the NFL's seventh-highest-paid TE. The Cowboys waited to extend Lamb and Prescott just before the start of the 2024 season. They may be doing the same with Parsons. The star defender has said, "Ownership is always gonna make [contract negotiations] drag out." Regardless, the Cowboys should've paid Parsons before Ferguson. That's a much bigger priority for the team.

Browns make curious decision with rookie QB Shedeur Sanders
NFL

Browns make curious decision with rookie QB Shedeur Sanders

The Cleveland Browns are giving Shedeur Sanders special treatment in training camp, but it's not the type of favoritism the fifth-round pick would necessarily want. Per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN, Sanders is the only Browns quarterback who has not been taking reps with the first-team offense during OTAs or the first two practices of training camp. Former Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Kenny Pickett, veteran Joe Flacco and rookie Dillon Gabriel have all split reps with the first team. Despite being asked to throw passes to members of the equipment staff amid a shortage of professional pass-catchers for a four-quarterback roster, Sanders said he's thankful for the opportunity to show the Browns coaching staff his talents. "I feel like that it's not in my control, so I'm not going to think about that or even have that in my thought process of why it is," Sanders said to a question as to why he's not getting first-team reps. "There's a lot of people who want to have the opportunity to be at this level, and I'm here and I'm thankful to have the opportunity. So, whenever that is, that is." Sanders, 23, believes that he can contribute more to the Browns than what the coaching staff is asking of him. "It doesn't make me feel down or left out because I know who I am as a person," Sanders said. "I know who I am as an individual and I know what I could bring to this team. So, I can never feel less than any circumstance." The Browns selected Sanders with the No. 144 pick in April's draft. As a player whom many draft analysts thought was a first-round talent, Cleveland took what could be the steal of the draft in the fifth round. It's curious why the Browns aren't giving Sanders a shot with the first team early in training camp before the quarterback race becomes more serious. Cleveland should see what Sanders has to offer this summer. Flacco, 40, isn't a long-term solution at the position. Pickett failed in Pittsburgh. The Browns need to gauge what rookies Gabriel and Sanders can do with the first team. Having Sanders throw balls to the equipment staff is a waste of everyone's time. But then again, Cleveland has wasted plenty of quarterbacks.

Seattle Mariners Reportedly 'Overwhelmed' Arizona Diamondbacks in Josh Naylor Trade
MLB

Seattle Mariners Reportedly 'Overwhelmed' Arizona Diamondbacks in Josh Naylor Trade

On Thursday, the Seattle Mariners officially kicked off trade deadline season by acquiring former All-star first baseman Josh Naylor from the Arizona Diamondbacks. In the deal, the M's gave up No. 13 ranked prospect Brandyn Garcia and No. 16 prospect Ashton Izzi. While both players could certainly end up making nice major league impacts, the pieces were seen as expendable considering the strength of Seattle's farm system. However, Arizona was apparently quite happy with the return, which is why they allowed the M's to strike so quickly, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today: The Diamondbacks had no intention of trading Josh Naylor so quickly, but the Mariners’ offer overwhelmed them, and they quickly moved, acquiring pitching prospects Brandyn Garcia and Ashton Izzi. Garcia has already been slotted into Arizona's bullpen and the Mariners have already played two games with Naylor, with him registering two hits and stealing a base. The 28-year-old put together a 30/100 season in 2024 for the Cleveland Guardians, helping lead them to the American League Championship Series, where they lost to the New York Yankees. He was traded to Arizona heading into 2025 and will be a free agent at the end of the season. In addition to Naylor, Nightengale reports that the Mariners are still interested in a reunion with third baseman Eugenio Suarez, who they had from 2022-2023. The Mariners enter play on Sunday at 55-49 and in second place in the American League West. They currently occupy the No. 2 spot in the wild card race.

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