Earlier this week, the White Sox designated left-hander Tyler Gilbert for assignment to free up a spot on their 40-man roster for Tommy Pham. Gilbert went unclaimed on waivers, and today, Chicago sent him outright to Triple-A Charlotte. Having been outrighted twice before in his career, he had the right to reject the assignment, but James Fegan of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that he will remain in the White Sox organization. That’s not highly surprising. Now that it is September, he would not have been eligible to pitch in the postseason for any new team he might have joined.
The Phillies selected Gilbert in the sixth round of the 2015 draft. After several years in the minors with the Phillies and a brief stint in the Dodgers organization, the southpaw made his major league debut for the Diamondbacks in 2021. Famously, he threw a no-hitter in his first career start. Unfortunately for Gilbert, the rest of his D-backs tenure wasn’t as impressive. All in all, he pitched to a 4.32 ERA and 4.78 SIERA in 91 2/3 innings over 28 games (13 starts) from 2021-23.
Gilbert elected free agency after the 2023 campaign and signed a minor league contract with the Reds. While he never appeared in the majors for Cincinnati, he did enough at Triple-A Louisville to catch the eye of his first organization; the Phillies traded for him and gave him a handful of appearances down the stretch in 2024.
The following winter, Philadelphia DFA’d Gilbert and traded him to the White Sox. He would go on to have arguably his most successful big league season, although there weren’t any no-hitters this time around. Despite a couple of stints on the injured list, the lefty threw a career-high 51 innings. He also collected a career-best four wins and five holds, and even earned his very first save. His 4.31 SIERA was about half a run higher than his 3.88 ERA, but even if he got a little lucky, he still looked like a capable low-leverage reliever.
The 2026 season has not been as kind to Gilbert. The White Sox quickly optioned him after he gave up two runs in one inning of work on Opening Day. His next call-up was another one-game stint; he allowed four to cross the plate in less than two innings. It took two months for Gilbert to earn another promotion, but it only took two more games for a left shoulder impingement to send him to the shelf until August. The 32-year-old finally returned for his fifth appearance of the season this past weekend, only to be DFA’d two days later. In a grand total of six innings for Chicago in 2026, Gilbert has allowed eight runs on 12 hits, striking out just four of the 32 batters he’s faced. His minor league numbers are better, though still not especially impressive. In 33 innings at Triple-A, he owns a 4.64 ERA and a 4.52 xERA, with 31 strikeouts to 10 walks.
Suffice it to say, this hasn’t been the kind of season Gilbert was hoping for. Yet, he is only one year removed from a perfectly respectable campaign out of Chicago’s bullpen. He will remain in the White Sox organization as depth for now. If he is not added back to the 40-man roster, he will be eligible to elect free agency after the season.
