Lucas

Gilbreath

Gilbreath will test the free agent waters this offseason after being removed from Colorado’s 40-man roster and refusing an outright assignment to Triple-A Albuquerque. The 29-year-old southpaw has compiled an underwhelming 4.41 ERA across 87 2/3 innings over 98 appearances at the big-league level for the Rockies since 2021.

Gilbreath’s latest stint with the Rockies lasted roughly 24 hours as he’s been shipped back to clear a roster spot for pitching prospect McCade Brown to ascend to the big leagues directly from Double-A

Gilbreath returns to Colorado’s bullpen prior to Friday’s game against the Pirates. He made just three relief appearances earlier this season for the Rockies in his return from last year’s Tommy John surgery.

No one thought it was worth taking a chance on Gilbreath, who seemed pretty promising before his arm problems. Unfortunately, he’s averaging just 90 mph with his fastball in Triple-A right now, down about 3.5 mph from 2021-22.

Gilbreath made just three appearances last year in his return from Tommy John surgery. The move clears a spot on Colorado’s 40-man roster for newly-acquired infielder Alan Trejo.

Gilbreath was limited to just three appearances late last year in his return from Tommy John surgery due to an August 2023 shoulder injury. The 29-year-old lefty made a handful of appearances this spring, which is encouraging, but he’ll open the year back in the minors as extra relief depth.

Gilbreath settled for $25,000 more than the minimum after making just one major league appearance last season. The reliever had Tommy John surgery in 2023, and he went down with shoulder inflammation right after returning in August. He’ll contend for a setup role in the Colorado bullpen if healthy.

Gilbreath just returned from Tommy John surgery 10 days ago. He had since made three appearances in which he gave up six runs and totaled three outs. It’s been quite a struggle for a lefty who was one of the Rockies’ best relievers as a rookie in 2021 and again until getting hurt in 2022.

Gilbreath is ready to make his 2024 debut after a lengthy recovery from Tommy John surgery. The 28-year-old southpaw registered an 8.00 ERA, 1.78 WHIP and a 12/8 K/BB ratio over nine innings of work. Expect manager Bud Black to ease him back into action in low leverage situations.

Gilbreath was placed on the injured list prior to the regular season and will need more time to get back to full strength. He could return at some point during the middle of the season, but as of now, it doesn’t look like the Rockies are rushing him back anytime soon.