Former Dodgers, Blue Jays Pitcher Announces Sudden Retirement From Baseball

Pitcher Kevin Gowdy, who spent parts of two seasons in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization (2023-24), announced his retirement from baseball in an Instagram post Tuesday.

“This past week I decided to hang up the spikes after 10 years of playing,” Gowdy wrote. “It was a really tough decision to walk away, but I will forever be grateful to the coaches and teammates and good times I’ve had along the way."

Gowdy, 28, topped out at Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2024 after spending the 2023 season with Double-A Tulsa.

A former Top-30 prospect in the Phillies organization, Gowdy arguably got his best chance to reach the majors with the Dodgers while putting together a serviceable 2024 season out of the Oklahoma City bullpen.

That year, he went 2-2 with a 4.38 ERA in 42 games, recording four saves and pitching 51.1 innings. Although he was never promoted to the Dodgers' 40-man roster, Gowdy finished second on the Oklahoma City team in relief appearances to future big leaguer John Rooney.

The Dodgers allowed Gowdy to walk as a minor league free agent after the season. He signed with the Blue Jays in December 2024 and received an invitation to their spring training camp.

Gowdy made eight Grapefruit League appearances in 2025 with the Blue Jays after getting into six spring training games with the Dodgers in 2024.

But the Blue Jays released Gowdy in July of last year after seeing him go 3-2 with a 5.25 ERA in 33 games with Triple-A Buffalo.

Gowdy was originally chosen with the 42nd overall pick in the 2016 MLB Draft by the Phillies. By 2019, he was ranked among the team's top prospects, joining a list of names that included Alec Bohm, Ranger Suarez and others who would help Philadelphia reach the 2022 World Series.

But after converting to the bullpen in the low minors, Gowdy was packaged to the Texas Rangers with Spencer Howard in the blockbuster July 2021 trade that sent Ian Kennedy and Kyle Gibson to Philadelphia.

From 2021-26, Gowdy played with five MLB organizations as well as the Diablos Rojos of the Mexican League.

Gowdy's last appearance with an affiliated team came in May with the New York Mets' Double-A affiliate. He was released by the Binghamton Rumble Ponies with a 10.61 ERA.

“In the next chapter, I will be working under @sipdrake and taking on athletes to work with on their mental game!” Gowdy wrote on Instagram. “I couldn’t think of a better way to give back to the game than to share the experiences, successes, rehabs, failures, lessons, and everything else this game and life has thrown at me.”

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