SAN FRANCISCO — Matt Gage wondered if he just wasn’t good enough.
It was the spring of 2019, and Gage had just finished his second start with Mexico City’s Diablos Rojos of the Mexican League. In his first start — Opening Day in the newly built Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú — he gave up five runs and recorded four outs. His next was no better: two innings, six runs.
He hadn’t pitched well enough to stick in the United States, and he wasn’t pitching well enough to stick in Mexico. Gage knew if he didn’t perform there, he may have nowhere else to go.
“When your back’s against the wall, you need to put up or shut up,” Gage said. “Especially in that culture, it’s win today. As you look in the mirror, it’s, ‘We got to go or you’re done.’”
Gage couldn’t have known it, but he was far from done.
He found success with the Diablos Rojos. He made a mechanical tweak during the pandemic with the help of his wife. He transitioned from starter to reliever and earned his second shot in America. It’s all led him back to the Giants, the team that originally drafted him more than a decade ago. And with San Francisco, the 32-year-old has a 0.82 ERA and is finally experiencing his first extended run of major-league success even as the team has fallen out of contention.
“Proud is an understatement,” said Paige Gage, Matt’s wife. “I told him this when we were on the field with our son after one of his home games. I was like, ‘If you told me we were going to be standing here with our 19-month-old back in 2018 when the Giants released you, I would have said you were crazy.’ You never think you’re going to end up back with the team that drafted you.”
Gage’s professional career began when the Giants selected him in the 10th round of the 2014 MLB draft out of Siena College in Loudonville, New York. He climbed as high as Triple-A but was released in July 2018. Following his release, Gage heard from Miguel Ojeda, his former manager with Double-A Richmond. Ojeda, the president of the Diablos Rojos, wanted to know if Gage had any interest in playing down south.
Gage wasn’t ready to make that move. He made one start for the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League before signing a minor-league deal with the Mets, electing free agency after the ’18 season. After spending all of spring training in ’19 with the Rockies’ minor-league camp, Gage made the leap to Mexico and embraced the newest chapter of his career.
That chapter looked destined to end as soon as it began. Through two starts, Gage had a 29.70 ERA. The Mexican League, unlike the minors, was about winning. And Gage was not helping the Diablos Rojos win.
“I thought my career was over,” Gage said. “I sat in my room and I was like, ‘Maybe this is it. Maybe I’m not good enough.’”
Having hit his nadir, Gage reached out to Ojeda. The two talked through some tweaks and Ojeda said the team would switch catchers. His back against the wall, Gage started to perform.
He earned his first win in Mexico in his third start. He allowed one run over 6 2/3 innings with six strikeouts in his fourth start, then pitched six innings of one-run ball in his fifth. Gage’s numbers at season’s end (5.57 ERA) weren’t great, but he pitched well enough to earn another year with the Diablos Rojos.
That second season never materialized.
Gage was in Oaxaca for spring training when the COVID-19 pandemic delayed — then eventually eliminated — the 2020 season. With no baseball, Gage returned home to Delaware. It was there, with the help of his wife, that he made a tweak that changed the trajectory of his career.
The left-hander had long used a low-three-quarters release point, but he became interested in how former All-Star Lucas Giolito gained velocity by shortening his arm path. One day that summer, Gage went to a local baseball field with a catcher and his wife. With Matt on the mound, Paige planted herself in the batter’s box.
Paige, one of the best softball players in Siena College history, was used to seeing Matt’s pitching. Dating back to college, Paige occasionally stood in the box as Matt worked on his existing arsenal. But this afternoon was the first time she served as the batter when Matt was actively working on something new.
Matt would throw one pitch with his old, low arm slot, then another with his new, high arm slot. For Paige, there was no debate which was better.
“The way he shortened his arm slot and kind of came from over the top, I didn’t see the ball until it was halfway on me,” Paige said. “The ball moved so late and had such sharp movement that I was like, ‘I think you’re onto something here.’”
Paige wouldn’t be the only one seeing Matt’s new mechanics. Gage posted a 3.07 ERA for the Eastern Reyes del Tigre of the independent Constellation Energy League during the summer of 2020, then excelled with the Venados de Mazatlan during the Mexico Pacific Winter League.
Following that stint in winter ball, Gage had an opportunity to pitch in front of a scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Gage’s velocity only sat in the mid-80s, and he told the scout he didn’t put his best foot forward. The scout told Gage he could throw again in a couple weeks in front of high school and college hitters, which would help add adrenaline.
After ironing out his mechanics — Paige stood in the box once again — Gage threw again in front of the scout. His velocity jumped to the low 90s, and he earned a minor-league deal with the Diamondbacks for the ‘21 season.
Despite pitching poorly during spring training, several injuries opened up an opportunity for Gage to pitch for Arizona’s Double-A affiliate. Gage was one of the oldest players on the Amarillo Sod Poodles, but all that mattered to him was the opportunity.
Gage split time with the Diamondbacks’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates and elected free agency after the season, then joined the Blue Jays organization on his latest minor-league deal. After beginning the season with a 1.08 ERA over 16 2/3 innings for Triple-A Buffalo, Gage finally got his long-awaited shot to pitch in the majors.
On June 6, 2022, Gage was called upon to pitch the bottom of the ninth at Kauffman Stadium against the Kansas City Royals with the Blue Jays leading by eight runs. He entered the game around midnight with only a couple dozen fans remaining due to a rain delay, but the tranquil environment didn’t dampen the moment.
Gage pitched a scoreless inning to seal the Blue Jays’ 8-0 win, striking out rookie Bobby Witt Jr. swinging with a slider to seal the deal.
“I still remember the PA announcer saying, ‘Making his major-league debut’ as I took the mound,” Gage said. “In that moment, I thought, I finally accomplished it. But also, in that moment, I need to get the job done.”
Gage made 11 appearances for the Blue Jays in ‘22 before being released the following spring. The Astros picked him up, and he made five appearances for Houston in ‘23. Gage didn’t see time in the majors in ’24, splitting between the Triple-A affiliates of the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers.
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Following a brief stint with the Tigers this season, Gage signed a minor-league deal with the Giants in July. On July 18, 2025, almost exactly seven years after being released by the Giants, Gage finally had his opportunity to join San Francisco. And over the last month, he’s capitalized on the opportunity.
With Erik Miller sidelined due to a left elbow injury, Gage has emerged as a left-handed option out of the bullpen. Gage began his tenure with the Giants with 10 consecutive scoreless outings, and he has a 0.82 ERA over a career-high 22 innings this season including his time with the Tigers.
For Paige, the one moment that resonated most was when he served as the Giants’ opener against the Washington Nationals on Aug. 8. Gage was the starting pitcher in name, his outing lasting all of one inning. But still, there was Gage’s name in the starting lineup with the team that originally drafted him more than a decade prior.
“I don’t cry very often,” Paige said, “and I cried during that moment. I was like, ‘This is what you’ve been working for since you got drafted, to get on that mound and be a starter.’”