The Chicago White Sox made another move to bolster their beleaguered bullpen. This move could also provide another option for the starting rotation that just lost its ace.
However, it may have been an overpay for a pitcher who is 31 considering the Sox had to give up a pitcher they just drafted in the eighth round who projects to be a reliever who could be move quickly through the minors.
The #WhiteSox selected Aaron Combs in the 8th round back in July. Was pretty good in seven innings in A ball. Reliever profile who could move quickly. https://t.co/ytgiUiGwR6
— James Fox (@JamesFox917) January 1, 2025
This is the second trade the White Sox have recently made for a veteran left-handed reliever in which the front office has given up a promising arm.
General manager Chris Getz dealt promising pitching prospect Yhoiker Fajardo to the Boston Red Sox in return for Cam Booser 10 days ago. Now he is sending pitcher Aaron Combs, the team's 2024 eight-round selection, to Philadelphia for veteran Tyler Gilbert.
This could be another move where Getz is tapping into assistant GM Josh Barfield's ties to the Arizona Diamondbacks since Gilbert got his start there while Barfield was in charge of player development. The Diamondbacks picked Gilbert in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 draft in 2021.
Gilbert got a late start to his big league career as he debuted that season when he was 27. He showed some promise in nine games with six starts as he posted a 3.15 ERA. He also tossed a no-hitter in his first career start that season.
He struggled in 2022 and 2023 with the Diamondbacks with ERAs over five in both of those seasons.
He had a terrible strikeout percentage and was prone to giving up the long ball.
Gilbert was outrighted off the roster after the 2023 season and he elected free agency where he signed with Cincinnati. The Reds dealt him to Philadelphia in May and he eventually joined the big-league club in late August.
He pitched 8.1innings late in the 2024 season where he posted a 3.24 ERA.
Given he is a left-handed pitcher with starting experience, he could vie for a spot in the rotation considering the team could use a southpaw there after Garrett Crochet was traded.
Granted he would likely not become the ace that Crochet became, but he could eat some innings and give the rotation at least one left-handed starter. If he cannot win a rotation spot, Tyler could give the Sox three left-handed bullpen arms to go along with Booser and Jared Shuster.
Giving up Combs might have been a bit of a high price to pay even if he was just drafted.
Combs posted a 3.51 ERA and 105 strikeouts in two seasons as a reliever for Tennessee before the Sox took him in the eight-round. He did get assigned to Low-A Kannapolis and struck out 13 batters in 7.2 innings.
Trading Aaron Combs feels very odd given he was just drafted and how quickly he should rise through the system a reliever. Don’t love that at all.
— Elijah Evans (@ElijahEv8) January 1, 2025
Gilbert threw just a couple innings last year and struggled in 22/23. 31 years old, minimal success. Not sure I see the logic here https://t.co/GsVWjZXYvd
Still, if the White Sox want to avoid another historic losing season, the bullpen needed upgrades since that group blew 37 save chances and the pitching staff blew 56 leads. That was the big difference between losing a historic 121 games rather than another disappointing 100 games.
Plus, the White Sox have a lot of pitching depth in their farm system, so trading from their strength is not a bad thing to get some help now. If Gilbert can produce like he did in 2021, he can always be flipped for more prospects at the trade deadline.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the team designated infielder Braden Shewmake for assignment.
The infielder came to the Southside last offseason as part of the return from the Atlanta Braves in the Aaron Bummer trade. He made the 26-man roster out of spring training as the utility infielder but failed to make an impact. Shewmake had a .125/.134/.203 slash line with a -15 wRC+ in 29 games.
He was demoted to Triple-A Charlotte and was never returned to the big leagues.
He became expendable after the Sox added infielders Nick Maton and Andre Lipcius on minor league deals with invites to spring training. Plus, Jacob Amaya is still on the 40-man roster and Brooks Baldwin can also be a suitable backup infielder.
The key is the Sox had options to move on from Shewmake, but needed more in the bullpen and even in the starting rotation. That is why Gilbert is now on the Sox and Braden is not.