Joe Gatto never pitched above Double A, so why did Texas Rangers give him MLB deal?
Right-handed reliever Joe Gatto never pitched above Double A in the Los Angeles Angels organization, which moves relievers in and out of its big-league bullpen on a moment’s notice.
During an odd-ball 2020, in which rosters were expanded and usually filled with relievers, Gatto didn’t even score an invitation to the Angels’ alternate camp. He did log two innings in spring training, though.
As of Thursday, Gatto is the proud owner of a major-league contract with the Texas Rangers.
Gatto overhauled himself during all of his downtime, the Rangers said, and as a reliever now throws 95-98 mph with a curveball and a changeup. The former starter is also working on a slider.
He tweaked his mechanics and now throws on an axis that creates more vertical movement. The Rangers have known Gatto since he was in high school, and are banking that the quality of the person and his work ethic will make his new stuff work on the field.
That’s right: The Rangers haven’t seen the reinvented Gatto in a game, only in bullpen sessions with a bunch of high-tech equipment spitting out data.
There was enough of it that the Rangers considered Gatto one of their “top-end targets” in minor-league free agency and signed him to a big-league contract worth $570,500 to separate themselves from competing teams.
“We wanted to make sure we got one of our targets,” said Ross Fenstermaker, Rangers senior director of pro and international scouting.
The Rangers signed Gatto and also re-signed outfielder Scott Heineman for $595,000 fewer than 24 hours after he had been non-tendered. He and Gatto can be optioned to the minor leagues in 2021, and probably will be.
The Rangers are looking for starting pitchers this offseason, and will need at least two who can chew up innings. That number will climb by one if they trade staff ace Lance Lynn, a move that his widely anticipated.
Additionally, the Rangers could try to add a third baseman, a left fielder and catching depth. They seem unlikely to re-sign veteran outfielder/DH Shin-Soo Choo, whose seven-year, $130 million contract has expired.
Rangers general manager Jon Daniels has said multiple times that they will likely wait until deeper into the offseason to make free-agent additions. As is the case with a rebuilding team, they won’t be players for top-tier free agents such as Trevor Bauer, D.J. LeMahieu and Marcell Ozuna.
That means the signings will be about as splashy as Gatto.
A second-round pick in 2014, Gatto has a career 4.58 ERA in the minors with a .288 opponents average and a 1.58 WHIP. He worked exclusively as a reliever for the first time in 2019, covering 54 1/3 innings over 32 appearances.
In 448 1/3 innings, Gatto has allowed only 26 home runs.
He deserves credit for realizing that what he was doing wasn’t good enough. He worked out extensively in Arizona during the shutdown and had multiple teams vying for his services.
“We’re really intrigued and enamored with some of the changes we made,” Fenstermaker said. “He’s a player that we’ve followed and have a good relationship with and feel comfortable with, and we like the adjustments that he’s made over the mix.”
Now, Gatto has to make the stuff translate from side sessions into games, and there’s a chance it doesn’t happen.
The Rangers, though, have seen others revamp themselves and become effective MLB players.
“Some times it takes a little while to prove that out, but we feel confident in the things he looked to address,” Fenstermaker said. “Ultimately, it’s doing to come down to opportunities early in spring and throughout the year to establish that those changes are indeed real.”
