Former Washington Nationals Slugger Gets Surprising Released by Chicago White Sox
This winter, the Washington Nationals wanted to upgrade first base.
Last season, they converted outfielder Joey Gallo to play that role, something that produced some positive results in the field with his defensive bWAR being 0.2 and his Outs Above Average worth a plus-three, per Baseball Savant.
But it was the offense that wasn't good enough for the slugger.
Coming off a bounce back year with the Minnesota Twins where he posted an OPS+ that was at least the league average of 100 for the first time since his All-Star campaign in 2021, Gallo's production fell off a cliff with the Nationals.
When was on the field instead of the injured list, he slashed .277/.336/.613 and had an OPS+ of 74 with 10 homers and 27 RBI across his 76 games and 260 plate appearances.
Since he had signed just a one-year pact ahead of the 2024 campaign, it was an easy decision for Washington to let him hit the open market and look for an upgrade at first elsewhere, something they accomplished by acquiring Nathaniel Lowe in a trade with the Texas Rangers.
It took a while, but Gallo seemingly found a home with a new team, the Chicago White Sox, when he signed a minor league contract with them in late-February.
But, that marriage is now over.
Per Scott Merkin of MLB.com, the White Sox have released the former Nationals slugger after he asked for his unconditional release, allowing him to search for another opportunity with a different club.
It's unclear why Gallo wanted to hit the open market again.
Perhaps he wasn't going to make the Opening Day roster and figured getting into camp with another team now would give him a better opportunity to stick with a Major League team.
Either way, Gallo is now a free agent once again this offseason and is searching for his next home.
