Terrance Gore

The Atlanta Braves signed former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Terrance Gore to a Minor League contract, though his deal is not believed to include a non-roster invite to Spring Training. On the morning after their World Series-clinching victory against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Dodgers saw seven players reach free...

Atlanta made a sneaky good signing yesterday, inking Terrance Gore to a minor-league pact. Gore brings a lot of what Billy Hamilton offered Atlanta — wheels. He was on the Dodgers in 2020, and although he didn’t receive any at-bats; his track record (no pun intended) is impressive. Used mostly as a pinch runner over his six year career, he was okay with the stick in limited action in 2019, posting a .715 OPS with 13 steals in 18 tries, albeit only over 37 games. From 2012-2018 in the minors with the Royals, Gore nabbed 276 bases, including 68 in 2013. The Macon native still hasn’t lost a step at age 29, so I expect him to run wild in Gwinnett.

Terrance Gore has been able to build a major league career out of one plus attribute – his amazing speed. He has played in parts of seven seasons, typically serving as a defensive replacement or a pinch runner. Nonetheless, his services have been in demand by teams looking to make a run to the postseason over his career.

There’s always room for one more outfielder, it appears. At least in this case, it isn’t a major league deal or someone on the 40-man roster. It doesn’t look like Terrance Gore is invited to Spring Training or anything, but he’s still a curiosity in a game full of them. Gore was drafted in the 20th round of the 2011 draft, and he has just one real baseball skill: speeeeeeeeeeeeeeed. To be very clear, Gore has amassed all of 77 PAs at the big league level, and he’s reached base 25 times in the process. Yet, he has 40 stolen bases! And was caught stealing nine times! He has five more stolen bases in the playoffs despite two postseason PAs. Basically: he fast. He could also probably play outfield fairly well, but that’s not why he’s here.

Gore signed a minor-league contract with Atlanta in mid-February. The world's preeminent pinch runner has received more than five major-league plate appearances just once in his career, yet he's managed to get at least a bit of time in the big leagues in each of the last seven seasons. He's highly unlikely to carve out a significant role on a strong Atlanta roster, but he'll stand a decent chance of getting called up down the stretch or in the playoffs to steal a couple bases.

Terrance Gore was a KC Royals favorite who electrified fans whenever he got on base, but Kansas City didn’t get to see one of his biggest moments. Terrance Gore is not your grandfather’s major league ballplayer. He is neither prototype nor stereotype; at around 5-feet-7 and 160 pounds, and with a weak bat packing absolutely no power, the former KC Royals favorite is hardly a baseball scout’s dream.