Stephen Gonsalves is done pitching.
The left-hander, who is 32, announced his retirement after a season in the Mexican League and said his last start for the Conspiradores de Queretaro on Aug. 2 was the final outing of his career. In an Instagram post, Gonsalves wrote, "Thank you to everyone that pushed me along the way: new beginnings ahead,"
Gonsalves finished his professional run with 1,001 strikeouts, a total that spanned five MLB organizations and the last two seasons in Mexico. This year, he made 23 appearances in the Mexican League.
His final stop in affiliated baseball came in 2024, when he split time between the Dodgers and Rockies. Gonsalves signed a minor league deal with Los Angeles in January 2024 and appeared in four Cactus League games that spring, giving up two runs over three innings.
Once the regular season opened, he was sent to Triple-A Oklahoma City. There, he made 15 appearances for the Dodgers’ top affiliate, went 2-0 with a 6.00 ERA, held opponents to a .219 average in the Pacific Coast League, and struck out more than a batter per inning.
The flip side was the walks: 20 in 18 innings. The Dodgers let him go on May 24, 2024.
He then ended the year with Triple-A Albuquerque in the Rockies system, where he logged 17 appearances and posted a 7.41 ERA.
Gonsalves’ path to this point started with the Twins, who drafted the San Diego native in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of high school. He reached the majors five years later and made seven appearances, including four starts, for Minnesota. He went 2-2 with a 6.57 ERA and issued 22 walks against 16 strikeouts.
Even after he was still listed as a Top-100 prospect entering the 2018 season, Gonsalves didn’t get back to the big leagues for three more years. In between, he was waived by the Twins, claimed and designated for assignment by the Mets, and then DFA’d and re-signed by the Red Sox.
He made three appearances for Boston in 2021, allowing two runs in 4.1 innings for a 4.15 ERA. That closed the book on his MLB career, though not on his time on the mound.
“From watching you debut at Target field to holding our son watching you pitch at Fenway, seeing all of your hard work pay off was truly the experience of a lifetime,” his wife, Hali, wrote on Instagram.
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