Former Tennessee Vols baseball teammates will be present at MLB big league spring training together
A couple of former Tennessee Vols baseball teammates will be in an MLB big league spring training together in February and March. RHP Blade Tidwell and outfielder Drew Gilbert, who were both on Tennessee's memorable 2022 team, are listed as non-roster invitees to New York Mets spring training (which gets underway this week). Tidwell was […]
A couple of former Tennessee Vols baseball teammates will be in an MLB big league spring training together in February and March.
RHP Blade Tidwell and outfielder Drew Gilbert, who were both on Tennessee's memorable 2022 team, are listed as non-roster invitees to New York Mets spring training (which gets underway this week).
Tidwell was a second round selection by the Mets in the 2022 MLB Draft.
Gilbert, meanwhile, was a first round selection by the Houston Astros in the 2022 MLB Draft. The left-handed outfielder was traded to the Mets in 2023 in a deal that sent future Hall of Fame RHP Justin Verlander back to the Astros.
Both players could use strong performances in spring training, though neither player has a real path to starting the season in the big leagues.
Tidwell excelled during a stint at Double-A Binghamton last season, pitching to a 2.41 ERA in seven games (with five starts). The former Vol, however, struggled when he made the move to AAA, pitching to a 5.93 ERA in 19 games (with 17 starts). It wouldn't be a surprise to see Tidwell take a big step forward in 2025 (the move to AAA is always a big adjustment), but it will be important for him to get off to a good start this spring.
As for Gilbert, he looked like he was on the path to reaching the big leagues in 2024 after a strong 2023 season that saw him hit .289 with 18 home runs, 59 runs batted in, and 12 stolen bases across 116 games in Double-A and Single-A.
Unfortunately for Gilbert, his 2024 season was a bit of a lost year. The Minnesota native got off to a slow start in Triple-A before suffering a hamstring injury that cost him a large chunk of the season. I wouldn't bet against Gilbert returning to form in 2025 and it's certainly possible that he could be called up to the big leagues at some point this summer (depending on the Mets' roster situation).
