Taylor Stone Gushue (born December 19, 1993) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

who is a free agent. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. He was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

in the 4th round of the

2014 Major League Baseball draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

Career

Amateur career

A native of

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

, Gushue attended

Calvary Christian Academy Calvary Christian Academy (CCA) is a private Christian school located in Cresaptown, Maryland in Allegany County. It was established as an outreach of Calvary Baptist Church of Cresaptown in 1973. Purpose Calvary Christian Academy is a school t ...

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

, and the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. In 2013, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox The Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox, or Y-D Red Sox, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Red Sox play thei ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

A fourth-round pick of the

in the 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft, Gushue signed for a $388,800

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. Though drafted as a catcher, Gushue had also played

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

at Florida. After signing, he was assigned to the

Jamestown Jammers The Jamestown Jammers were a minor league baseball team based in Jamestown, New York from 1994 until 2014. The team was the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and played in the New York–Penn League. The team playe ...

where he batted .241/.336/.402 with five home runs and 29 RBIs. In 2015, he played with the

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The Dir ...

, batting .231/.288/.342 with five home runs and 47 RBIs in 99 games. In 2016, he played with the

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as th ...

, where batted .226/.282/.357 with eight home runs and 38 RBIs.

Washington Nationals

On September 26, 2016, he was traded to the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

for infielder

Christopher Bostick Christopher Michael Bostick (born March 24, 1993) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins. Career Bostick grew up in Gates ...

. While not considered a remarkable hitter in the Pirates organization, Gushue demonstrated an immediate power surge in the Nationals organization, where he started 2017 with the

Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were located in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to Fr ...

. He was named a

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

All-Star, alongside teammates

Víctor Robles Víctor Enrique Robles Brito (born May 19, 1997) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Robles signed with the Nationals as an international free agent in 2013. He made his ML ...

and Kelvin Gutiérrez. Midseason prospect rankings produced by '' MLB Pipeline'' saw Gushue vault into the Nationals' top 30 prospects, ranking as their third-best catching prospect behind Raudy Read and

Pedro Severino Pedro Severino De León (born July 20, 1993) is a Dominican professional baseball catcher in the San Diego Padres organization. He previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers. Professional caree ...

and coming in at 25th overall among Washington prospects. Gushue led the Potomac Nationals in home runs with 18 on the season along with slashing .241/.327/.437 with 67 RBIs. He finished the season with the

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...

, playing four games with them. He went on to play for 13 games for the

Mesa Solar Sox The Mesa Solar Sox are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Mesa, Arizona, at Sloan Park, which is also the spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs. The team was established ...

in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

after the season. Gushue was invited to participate in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and 2019 spring training with the Nationals. In 2018, playing for the Triple-A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

and the Double-A

, he batted .213/.292/.364 with 10 home runs and 44 RBIs. In 2019, playing for the Triple-A

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in do ...

, Gushue batted .312/.358/.517 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs. After the season, on October 10, he was selected for the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball to ...

in the

2019 WBSC Premier 12 The 2019 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was the second WBSC Premier12 event. The championship w ...

tournament in November 2019. Gushue did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On November 2, 2020, he elected free agency.

Chicago Cubs

On November 16, 2020, Gushue signed a minor league contract with the

organization. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

to begin the 2021 season, where he slashed .272/.328/.440 with 5 home runs and 27 RBI in 36 games. On June 30, 2021, Gushue was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time following an injury to

José Lobatón José Manuel Lobatón (born October 21, 1984) is a Venezuelan professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB)for the San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Washington Nationals, New York Mets and Chicago ...

. He made his MLB debut that day as an injury replacement for

Patrick Wisdom Patrick Ian Wisdom (born August 27, 1991) is an American professional baseball third baseman and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Saint Mary's Gaels. He was drafted by the St. L ...

. Gushue went 0-4 in 2 games with Chicago before he was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

on July 5. He was outrighted to Iowa on July 8. Gushue became a free agent following the 2021 season.

Washington Nationals (second stint)

On February 10, 2022, Gushue signed a minor league contract to return to the

. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gushue, Taylor 1993 births Living people Baseball players from Florida Bradenton Marauders players Chicago Cubs players Florida Gators baseball players Fresno Grizzlies players Gigantes del Cibao players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Harrisburg Senators players Iowa Cubs players Jamestown Jammers players Major League Baseball catchers Mesa Solar Sox players Potomac Nationals players Sportspeople from Boca Raton, Florida Syracuse Chiefs players United States national baseball team players West Virginia Power players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players 2019 WBSC Premier12 players Madison Mallards players