Reds Deal Gilbert to Philly: Big Trade Alert!

The Cincinnati Reds have transferred left-handed pitcher Tyler Gilbert to the Philadelphia Phillies, although it’s not exactly a conventional trade. Instead, Philadelphia is purchasing his contract from the Reds for an undisclosed sum of cash, a transaction that qualifies as a trade in baseball terms.

Following the 2023 season, Tyler Gilbert was outrighted and passed through waivers while still under contract with the Diamondbacks organization. Opting for free agency in November, he later signed a minor league agreement with the Reds in January, including an invitation to the major league spring training camp.

During spring training, Gilbert showcased promising statistics, appearing in five games and pitching for 9.0 innings. He allowed two earned runs, walked only one batter, and struck out 11 out of the 41 hitters he faced. However, despite this performance, he was reassigned to the minor league camp on March 18th.

Upon the commencement of the regular season, Gilbert was assigned to the Triple-A team, the Louisville Bats. His time there was challenging, with three starts and four relief appearances resulting in a 13.11 ERA over 11.2 innings. Despite not conceding any home runs, he yielded 24 hits and issued six walks, leading to a WHIP of 2.57. He managed to strike out 13 hitters out of the 63 he faced during his tenure with Louisville.

Having previously thrown a no-hitter in his first MLB start with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2021, Gilbert now returns to the Phillies, the team that originally drafted him in the 6th round of the 2015 draft. After remaining with them in the minors until his trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers post the 2020 season, he joined the Diamondbacks through the minor league Rule 5 draft. Despite his back-and-forth journey between Triple-A and the majors, mainly with the Diamondbacks until 2024, he now reunites with the Phillies.