The Phillies have acquired RHP Aaron Combs from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for LHP Tyler Gilbert who had been designated for assignment when LHP Jesus Luzardo was acquired from the Miami Marlins on 12/22/24.
Combs (23 years old) was the White Sox 8th round draft selection in the 2024 draft from the University of Tennessee, he’s from Sarasota, Florida. Aaron closed out the 2024 CWS championship for Tennessee. After signing he pitched in six games for Low A level Kannapolis amassing 7.2 IP with a 0.00 ERA posting 13 K’s and 4 walks. He also appeared in three playoff games - 4.2 IP - no runs - 12 K’s and 1 walks.
Baseball America wrote this about him in their pre-draft report “Combs is a 6-foot-3, 203-pound righthander who began his career at Coastal Carolina but didn’t pitch there because of an injury. He then spent the 2022 season with Central Florida JC before transferring to Tennessee for the 2023 and 2024 seasons where he pitched out of the bullpen and posted a 3.24 ERA over 66.2 innings with a 36.8% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate. He sits in the low 90s and will touch 95 with the fastball but uses his sweepy upper-70s breaking ball at a high clip. It’s a high spin offering that features both horizontal break and depth.”
Tyler Gilbert (31 years old) was in his second stint with the Phillies organization - he was drafted in round 6 of the 2015 draft from the University of Southern California. He later pitched for the Diamondbacks and Reds - was re-acquired by the Phillies on 5/7/24 for cash from Cincinnati. He pitched in six major league games for the Phillies in 2024 but was primarily used in a new role for him - a back end reliever for Lehigh Valley in 31 games posting seven saves with a 2.25 ERA in 40 IP. We wish him well with the White Sox - would seemingly have a very good chance of sticking with their big club on opening day.
From a fan’s view welcome to the Phillies Aaron Combs! It’s likely he competes for a roster spot this spring with either High A Jersey Shore or Low A Clearwater.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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