Joey Gallo has always been of baseball’s most unique players. Now he’s about to attempt something even more unusual. After 10 MLB seasons as a hitter, he’s becoming a pitcher. The former All-Star announced the move himself on social media along with a highlight reel of some of his best outfield assists.
Gallo has long been known for epitomizing the “three true outcomes” as a hitter—either walking, striking out, or hitting a home run in a higher percentage of his plate appearances than nearly anyone else in baseball history. He belted 208 home runs—and only 232 singles—in his career, but struck out 1,292 times in 3,403 trips to the plate. He failed to latch on with the Chicago White Sox in Spring Training after hitting .161/.277/.336 with the Washington Nationals last year.
Gallo is nearly as well known for his firehose arm as he is for his all-or-nothing approach to hitting. In 2020, his average arm strength on competitive throws was 94.9 mph, second in baseball to Brett Phillips. His arm strength was 93.9 mph in 2021, then 91.4 mph in 2022 before he moved to first base as his primary position in 2023 and 2024.
Phillips serves as a cautionary tale for how difficult this transition can be. He attempted to convert from the outfield to the mound last season, but only got into one game in Low-A, allowing two hits, two walks, and a hit-by-pitch without recording an out.
The only successful outfielder-to-pitcher conversion in recent history was Anthony Gose—unless you count Shohei Ohtani, who has always been a two-way player. Gose played the outfield for the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers from 2012-2016, then became a left-handed reliever and worked his way back up through the minors, pausing along the way to win a silver medal with Team USA in the 2021 Summer Olympics. He resurfaced with the Cleveland Guardians later that summer made 31 pitching appearances for them from 2021-2024, posting a 4.78 ERA.
Gallo has pitching pedigree in his past. When he was in high school in the Las Vegas area, he was nearly as well regarded as a pitching prospect as he was was for his bat. He once threw a no-hitter, then took Hall of Famer Greg Maddux’s daughter to prom that same evening.
It’s hard to argue he made the right choice by prioritizing hitting. He became a first round pick of the Texas Rangers in the 2012 draft, and he amassed more than $38.5 million in career earnings. He was an All-Star in both 2019 and 2021 and won Gold Gloves in 2020 and 2021, in part due to his right-field arm.
Beyond a social media post, we don’t know what the future holds for Gallo as a pitcher. The 31-year-old doesn’t appear to have a professional contract right now, and he may work with a private coach for a while before throwing a showcase for teams once he is ready. If that goes according to plan, he could sign a minor league contract, then work his way up starting in the low minors, most likely as a reliever.
He has always been a hard thrower, but his arm strength numbers have been in decline since Baseball Savant started tracking that data in 2020. Making an outfield throw is also much different mechanically than pitching off of a mound, and there’s more to pitching than pure arm strength. He will have to demonstrate professional quality velocity, movement, control, and secondary pitches.
All of that won’t be easy for Gallo, who hasn’t pitched since he was in high school 13 years ago. If he manages to make it back to MLB, it will only add to his legend as one of baseball’s most entertaining players.
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