The Philadelphia Phillies began 2025 off with a subtle yet shrewd roster move. Announced on Wednesday, the Phillies got the new year underway by trading left-hander Tyler Gilbert to the Chicago White Sox for minor league right-hander Aaron Combs.
A former Phillies draft pick in 2016, the team had reacquired the 31-year-old Gilbert from the Cincinnati Reds for cash last May before designating him for assignment on Dec. 22. Combs, a college standout from the University of Tennessee, was an eighth-round draft pick of the White Sox in last summer's amateur draft.
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
Phillies swipe college standout Aaron Combs from White Sox for Tyler Gilbert
Combs, who is 23, has one of the game's "most disgusting curveballs," according to Craig Smith of A to Z Sports, who also calls the right-hander "nasty." Combs appeared in six games for the White Sox's Single-A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers at the end of the 2024 minor league season. He threw 7 2/3 scoreless innings, logging a 2.35 ERA while piling up 13 strikeouts and four walks.
After attending IMG Academy and the College of Central Florida, the Florida native spent two years pitching for the Tennessee Volunteers in Division 1 NCAA, claiming fame for recording the final out of the 2024 College World Series in June. He also closed out the SEC tournament in May.
Pitching mostly in relief at Tennessee, Combs posted a 7-1 record with a 3.24 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with 105 strikeouts and 30 walks in 66 2/3 innings.
The moment we’ve all been waiting for!
— Tennessee Baseball (@Vol_Baseball) June 25, 2024
The Vols are dogpiling in Omaha! pic.twitter.com/28F8MXu14l
After being brought over from the Reds, Gilbert spent most of the 2024 season with the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley IronPigs. He appeared in 31 games for the IronPigs, sporting a 2.25 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with 52 strikeouts in 40 innings.
He made his Phillies debut in August while the team was on the road in Kansas City, throwing two innings, allowing one run on two hits with a walk and strikeout. He made five more appearances for the Phillies in a second MLB stint in September, finishing the season with a 3.24 ERA and 1.44 WHIP with four strikeouts and two walks in 8 1/3 innings.
The White Sox added Gilbert to their 40-man roster as they attempt to bolster their left-handed pitching depth, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com. It seems like a winning move for the Phillies, managing to flip a recently DFA'd pitcher they had acquired for cash for a promising minor league arm like Combs.