It isn’t often that the Phillies lead the pack in transactions, but this new year, the team decided to get MLB off on the right foot.
LHP Tyler Gilbert (DFA on 12/22) was traded to CWS today in exchange for minor league RHP Aaron Combs.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) January 1, 2025
First of all, raise your hand if you knew that Tyler Gilbert was actually DFA’ed in the days before Christmas.
It’s not a huge deal. It’s not an important deal. The team needed to get Gilbert off their books and decided to move him along to a new team. It’s possible they were trying to sneak him through the transaction wire and the White Sox were still awake prior to the holidays. Keeping Gilbert isn’t anything the team should be overly concerned about, but he would have represented starting pitching depth. Stashing him in Lehigh Valley was likely the desired outcome, but it didn’t happen.
In return for Gilbert, the team actually grabbed a pitcher that has the aroma of value around him. Aaron Combs wasn’t a name that was on the tip of anyone’s draft hungry tongue in 2024, but he was popped by the White Sox in the 8th round last year. One scouting report last February saw a little something in him:
At 91-94 MPH, Combs even was able to get whiffs at the top of the zone with his heater. Combs’ best pitch however, was his 78-81 MPH 11-5 above average curveball, which he showed great feel for. This pitch generated whiffs out of the zone and as well as in the zone, and was a great weapon for Combs. He flashed a changeup with nice fade at 85 MPH as well, a pitch that he should have good feel for from his arm slot.
That’s something to build on. During the 2024 season with Tennessee, he pitched over 45 2⁄3 innings over the season, so the White Sox were probably a bit concerned about workload once he was drafted. He was limited to only six appearances (7 2⁄3 IP) in the minors, followed by a break in his season.
It’s not a huge, roster building type of deal that gets the team any closer to a division title or even the playoffs. What it does do is deepen the pool of relief pitching options they have in the minors, something they weren’t all that deep to begin with. They’ve got some starting pitching arms in the minors, but they are a bit thin with relief arms that can move quickly. Whether or not he does move quickly remains to be seen, but it’s a smart move by the team.
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