Diamondbacks 2023 Player Reviews: Tyler Gilbert

Tyler Gilbert is a flexible pitcher capable of starting or providing bulk relief out of the bullpen. He's best known as the most recent Diamondbacks pitcher to have thrown a No-Hitter. He did that in August of 2021. In 2023, he split his time between Triple-A and MLB going back and forth from the Reno Aces and the D-backs. He started the season with the Reno Aces working out of the bullpen with spot starts from Opening Day to July 5th. 

Over that time, he pitched fairly well, by Reno's standards. While his 5.67 ERA was unsightly, he threw 54 innings in 21 games and had walked just 19 while striking out 65 batters. Plus, opponents were hitting just .268 against him. That earned him a call-up to join the Diamondbacks' active roster. 

He made six appearances in July pitching over an inning in four of those outings. They went excellent as he allowed just four runs and four walks in 11 innings. He struck out 10 and had a 3.27 ERA and 2.53 FIP. In particular, he had a dominant outing on July 30th when he struck out five batters in just two innings of work.

Then the calendar flipped to August. The wheels came fully unglued starting with his outing on August 2nd. In that outing, over just one inning, he gave up five hits and two runs with just one strikeout. That started a tough August in which he gave up runs in four of his outings. In just 6.1 innings, he allowed 12 hits, six runs, one walk, and nine strikeouts. His ERA was a disastrous 8.53 but his FIP was still an encouraging 4.99.

Following that, he was optioned to Reno in late August. He finished the season with the Aces. It was a strong ending. Over nine games and 20.2 innings, he struck out 23 with just seven runs and a 4.35 ERA. The majority of his damage over this span came in a September 9th games when he allowed eight hits and five runs in just 0.2 innings. Otherwise, he was a reliable bullpen arm.

At the end of the regular season, Gilbert had a tough 5.19 ERA and an 85 ERA+. His expected ERA or xERA was an even worse 6.08. However, there was some encouraging stats. His FIP was 3.43 for Baseball Reference and Fangraphs, while Fangraphs had his xFIP was 3.07. So, it would seem that he was a victim of some untimely hits and bad luck during August. This would indicate that the 29-year-old had a better season than what the base stats say.

2024 Status and Outlook:

After the season, the Diamondbacks were facing a roster crunch on their 40-man roster. This led the D-backs to make some tough decisions. One of which included out-righting Tyler Gilbert to the minor leagues and taking him off of the 40-man roster. While he went unclaimed, Gilbert had achieved enough service time to be able to reject the assignment. He did and due to that, he became a free agent for the first time in his career. While he could still come back to Arizona, Gilbert is free to sign with any team. Any team that signs him would him have under control through the 2028 season via renewable contracts and arbitration.