After short stint with Astros, Anthony Gose returns to Rangers - and that could be a good thing

The Anthony Gose project is returning to the Texas Rangers.

The Rangers signed Gose this offseason, in hopes of helping him continue his transition from outfielder to left-handed reliever, but lost him to the Houston Astros in the Rule 5 draft.

Gose, who can throw close to 100 mph, made just one appearance in the Grapefruit League with the Astros, walking all three batters he faced. The Astros placed Gose on waivers Monday and returned him to the Rangers on Friday. The Rangers will have him in big-league camp next Monday and have assigned him to Triple-A Round Rock.

"A unique athlete that can do multiple things on a baseball field," manager Jeff Banister said. "He's a guy who can swing the bat a little bit, play defense and also pitch."

Banister made it clear that the Rangers' priority is to work Gose in as a pitcher, although they'll make sure he stays fresh as an outfield option too.

"We'll focus in on the pitching side of it, but allow him to get out and make sure he stays fresh shagging balls and getting some BP in the cage," Banister said.

Gose spent five seasons in the majors as an outfielder with the Toronto Blue Jays (2012-14) and Detroit Tigers (2015-16). He attempted to transition to pitcher with the Tigers last season. He had a 7.59 ERA in 11 appearances with Class-A Lakeland.

Gose was just one of several moves the Rangers announced Friday --

* They optioned right-hander Ariel Jurado and left-hander Brett Martin to Double A Frisco and right-hander Jonathan Hernandez to High A Down East.

* They assigned left-hander Jeffrey Springs, infielder Andy Ibanez and outfielder Jose Cardona to minor league camp.

The moves left the Rangers with 62 players on the spring training roster.

This story was originally published March 9, 2018 at 3:51 PM with the headline "After short stint with Astros, Anthony Gose returns to Rangers - and that could be a good thing."