The Long Island Ducks are adding a proven major league veteran to the team. The Ducks announced that they have signed right-handed pitcher John Gant.
This will be Gant's first season with the Ducks, but it will extend his career as he now enters his 13th in professional baseball.
Ducks manager Lew Ford, who has plenty of professional experience himself pointed to Gant's major league time after the signing. “We are excited to welcome John to Long Island,” said Ford. “He enjoyed plenty of success at the game’s highest level and will add a wealth of experience and knowledge to our clubhouse.”
Gant spent six seasons in the Major Leagues. He began his career with the Atlanta Braves in 2016, then played the bulk of his major league time with the St. Louis Cardinals from 2017 to 2021. He also spent a year with the Minnesota Twins in 2021.
Gant made 49 starts in the majors and pitched in 173 games. He ended with a 24-26 record to go along with a 3.89 ERA, three saves and 325 strikeouts over 372.2 innings pitched. The righty earned his first Major League win on June 17, 2016, against the New York Mets at Citi Field with six and two-thirds innings of one-run ball.
Gant was named a South Atlantic League Mid-Season and Post-Season All-Star with his hometown Savannah Sand Gnats, a Mets minor league team, in 2014 and also garnered New York-Penn League Mid-Season All-Star honors in 2013 with the Brooklyn Cyclones. Gant was recently playing overseas with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan.