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Toronto Blue Jays Sign Resilient Reliever Kevin Gowdy to Minor League Contract

Kevin Gowdy tossed just 86.0 innings in his first five years as a pro, and has since bounced around from the Philadelphia Phillies to the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays.
Sam Connon|
Oklahoma City pitcher Kevin Gowdy (16) pitches during a minor league baseball game between the Oklahoma City Baseball Club and the Albuquerque Isotopes at the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, on Wednesday, June 19, 2024.
Oklahoma City pitcher Kevin Gowdy (16) pitches during a minor league baseball game between the Oklahoma City Baseball Club and the Albuquerque Isotopes at the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, on Wednesday, June 19, 2024. | NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed right-handed pitcher Kevin Gowdy to a minor league contract, the team announced Tuesday evening.

Gowdy, 27, spent the past two years in the Los Angeles Dodgers' farm system. He now holds an invitation to the Blue Jays' 2025 Spring Training camp.

Toronto also officially announced they had signed infielder Michael Stefanic to his own minor league deal, a week after his agent first publicized the agreement.

Gowdy got his start as a pro all the way back in 2016, getting drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the second round. He made four starts in the Gulf Coast League as an 18-year-old that season, and he opened 2017 as the No. 8 prospect in the Phillies' farm system.

However, Gowdy did not appear in a single game in 2017, undergoing Tommy John surgery that August. That procedure cost Gowdy the entire 2018 campaign as well.

Gowdy tossed 77.0 innings in Single-A in 2019, only to have his 2020 season canceled by COVID-19. And when he returned to action in 2021, Gowdy got sent to the Texas Rangers at the trade deadline.

The Rangers moved Gowdy to the bullpen when he was to Double-A in 2022. In 40.0 innings of work, he posted a 9.90 ERA and a 2.075 WHIP, ultimately entering free agency at the end of the year.

Gowdy found more success when the Dodgers gave him a shot in Double-A in 2023, and he stayed on that track in Triple-A in 2024. The righty put up a 4.62 ERA and 1.506 WHIP over the past two seasons.

The Blue Jays are technically bringing Gowdy in to compete during Spring Training, but he will most likely serve as organizational depth in 2025. Still, the upside Gowdy brings to the table makes it a worthwhile gamble for Toronto.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer covering baseball for “Fastball on SI.’’ He previously covered UCLA Athletics for On SI’s All Bruins site, and is a UCLA graduate, with his work there as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for On SI’s New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Sam lives in Boston.

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