| Matt Gage | |
| Team: | New York Mets |
| Number: | 51 |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Birth Date: | 11 February 1993 |
| Birth Place: | Johnstown, New York, U.S. |
| Bats: | Left |
| Throws: | Left |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | June 6 |
| Debutyear: | 2022 |
| Debutteam: | Toronto Blue Jays |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Statyear: | 2023 season |
| Stat1label: | Win–loss record |
| Stat1value: | 0–1 |
| Stat2label: | Earned run average |
| Stat2value: | 1.83 |
| Stat3label: | Strikeouts |
| Stat3value: | 20 |
| Teams: | |
Matthew Robert Gage (born February 11, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros.
A native of Johnstown, New York, Gage attended Broadalbin-Perth High School in Broadalbin, New York and played college baseball for Siena College. In three seasons with the Saints, Gage pitched to an 11–16 win–loss record, 3.99 earned run average (ERA), and 212 strikeouts in 248 innings.[1] In 2013, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star.[2]
The San Francisco Giants selected Gage in the 10th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft.[3] He was assigned to the Rookie-level Arizona League Giants for the remainder of the 2014 season, appearing in 13 games and posting a 2–0 record, 1.89 ERA, and 32 strikeouts.[1] Gage began the 2015 season with the Class-A Augusta GreenJackets, and was later promoted to the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels. In total, Gage went 6–7 with a 4.27 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 116 total innings.[1] He played the entire 2016 season with Richmond, making 23 starts and posting a 9–7 record, 3.38 ERA, and 106 strikeouts in 136 innings.[1] Gage made his Triple-A debut in 2017, appearing in games for Richmond and the Sacramento River Cats. In a career-high 145 innings, he went 6–11 with a 4.21 ERA and 95 strikeouts,[1] and was named a mid-season All-Star for Richmond.[4] Gage began the 2018 season with Richmond, and made appearances in Sacramento, but struggled to a 6.45 ERA.[1] He was released by the Giants organization on July 13, 2018.[4]
On August 4, 2018, Gage signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets organization[4] and played for both the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies and the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s. In total for 2018, he played 20 games and posted a 7–11 win–loss record, 5.16 ERA, and 80 strikeouts in 103 innings.[1] Gage elected free agency following the season on November 2.[5]
On April 3, 2019, Gage signed with the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League. In 118 total innings, Gage went 10–4 with a 5.57 ERA and 106 strikeouts.[1] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic's cancellation of the 2020 minor league season,[6] Gage played independent baseball with the Eastern Reyes del Tigre of the Constellation Energy League.[1] In 11 games, he recorded a 3.07 ERA with 16 strikeouts across innings of work.[1]
In the offseason Gage played for the Venados de Mazatlán of the Mexican Pacific Winter League,[1] and on February 9, 2021, signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.[4] Now pitching exclusively as a reliever, Gage appeared in 43 games split between the Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles and Triple-A Reno Aces. He posted a combined 4–1 record, 4.14 ERA, and 58 strikeouts in 45 innings.[1]
After returning to the Venados in the offseason,[1] Gage signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on November 29, 2021, and was invited to spring training.[4] Matt Buschmann, the Blue Jays director of pitching development and bullpen coach, recommended the team sign Gage, a former teammate.[7] He began the season with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, where he went 1–2 with a 1.08 ERA in innings before being called-up.[8]
Gage was promoted to the majors for the first time on June 6, 2022, and made his debut that night with a scoreless inning of relief against the Kansas City Royals.[9] His first major league strikeout was of Kyle Isbel.[10] Gage made 11 total appearances for Toronto in his rookie campaign, logging a 1.38 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 13 innings pitched.[11]
On January 31, 2023, Gage was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays [12] and then released on February 6.[13]
On February 13, 2023, Gage was claimed off waivers by the Houston Astros[14] [15] and optioned to the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys to begin the 2023 season.[16] In 34 games for Sugar Land, he was 1–1 with a 4.82 ERA.[1] On May 2, he was recalled by the Astros to replace Luis García, who went on the injured list.[17] In five games for the Astros, Gage posted a 2.70 ERA with eight strikeouts across innings of work.[11] On January 22, 2024, he was designated for assignment to make room for Josh Hader on the 40-man roster.[18]
On January 29, 2024, Gage was claimed off waivers by the New York Yankees.[19] However, on February 5, the Yankees traded him and Christian Zazueta to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Caleb Ferguson.[20] Gage was optioned to the Triple–A Oklahoma City Baseball Club to begin the 2024 season[21] but instead was placed on the minor league injured list and later released on April 2.[22] On April 6, Gage re–signed with the Dodgers on a minor league contract.[22] On July 3, the Dodgers purchased his contract and added him back to the 40-man roster to prevent him from exercising his opt–out clause, but kept him in Oklahoma City on optional assignment.[23] In 20 games, he was 1–3 with a 4.29 ERA.[1]
On July 7, 2024, Gage was traded to the New York Mets in exchange for cash considerations.[24] In five appearances with the Triple-A Syracuse Mets, he struck out seven over 5.1 innings, did not give up any runs and picked up three saves. He was called up on July 29 when fellow left-hander Jake Diekman was designated for assignment.[25]
Gage's wife, Paige, played college softball at Siena College.[7]