The Seattle Mariners are itching to get ace Logan Gilbert back from elbow injury, and they get closer by the day. On Thursday, Gilbert threw his first rehab start at Triple-A Tacoma, and it wasn't pretty, as Gilbert didn't make it out of the second inning, finishing with a line of 1.2 innings, 2 hits, 2 walks, 1 run, and 3 strikeouts on 45 pitches (24 strikes).
His fastball sat around 95-96, which is solid, but the most important part of Gilbert's outing is that he left feeling healthy. The importance of rehab starts is that a pitcher feels comfortable being back on the mound; the actual stats don't matter as much, as the reps are paramount.
Gilbert will probably get a few more chances to throw in Triple-A before the big league club calls him back into action. No risks necessary!
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Gilbert gives Seattle another top-end arm
Logan Gilbert became a true ace in 2024, when he threw over 200 innings, struck out 200 batters, posted a WHIP under .900 and finished sixth in Cy Young voting in the American League.
With the emergence of Bryan Woo, Gilbert has real competition for the title of "ace" in Seattle's rotation, but whoever the true No. 1 is, Seattle getting Gilbert back will be a huge boon to a rotation that set historic marks last year but has struggled with injuries and consistency in 2025. Gilbert, along with Bryce Miller and George Kirby, have both missed time this year, causing Seattle to call up Logan Evans, Emerson Hancock and Luis Castillo (not that one) to start multiple games.
Gilbert last pitched for Seattle on April 25th.