TAMPA, Fla. – Soaring strikeout totals were a staple of Joey Gallo’s brief Yankees tenure.
Now, the lefty slugger is going to try his hand at striking out batters.
Released from the Chicago White Sox’s spring training camp Sunday, the right-handed throwing Gallo posted to his social media account: “Just to be clear, I will be pitching.’’
“He’s pretty talented guy…stranger things have happened,’’ said Aaron Boone, who managed Gallo with the Yankees for parts of the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Gallo was a two-time All-Star with the Texas Rangers and had two 40-homer seasons.
But things went downhill rapidly since the 2021 season.
Over his last 466 games, Gallo has batted .178 with a .719 OPS with five different teams – the Rangers, Yankees, Dodgers, Twins and Nationals.
Boone hadn’t heard of Gallo’s intentions to switch to pitching when first asked about it Sunday, following the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 4-3 exhibition win against the Yanks.
“Obviously, (he has) a really good arm in the outfield,’’ said Boone. “Interesting. Good luck, Joey.’’
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