After missing almost two full years of action, “Gilly” is back – and he’s been hard at work
Two years is a long time.
It’s enough time to make a movie or get halfway through high school. It’s as long as Gunther’s reign as Intercontinental Champion. It’s no small timeframe.
It was even longer for Lucas Gilbreath.
Since suffering an elbow injury at the tail end of the 2022 season that required Tommy John surgery, “Gilly” hadn’t seen game action and was purely focused on recovery. Now, finally, he has been activated from the injured list and can take his rightful spot atop the mound that he has missed so dearly.
After throwing a scoreless inning in his return to MLB, he reflected on his experience and his mindset.
“I feel good,” he said. “I was ecstatic to get back out there. I’m happy with where I’m at.”
He has reason to be. Often viewed as an integral part of Colorado’s bullpen, his progression is of critical importance to many Rockies fans. With so many new arms making their debuts recently, having Gilbreath available as a stable left-hander would be a boon.
Perhaps even more crucial than his on-field work, though, is the positivity and energy he brings to the clubhouse (I mean, who could forget those awesome Crocs that he provided the guys with?).
Known as an excellent teammate, Gilbreath has always been someone that others can rely on. When he was going through tough times, he was grateful for the support he received from his brothers-in-arms throughout his rehab.
“I had some great support,” he recalled. “I mean, [Tyler] Kinley was an awesome resource, going through the surgery himself. Being with [Germán] Márquez and [Antonio] Senzatela through the whole thing was great. Obviously, my family, my wife being there – it’s not a fun process.
“There’s some some dark days,” he continued, “so just that whole group, being able to bounce questions off some of the other guys, and having the family there to support was awesome, absolutely.”
Márquez and Senzatela are, of course, dealing with significant arm injuries themselves. With the rising concern for pitchers’ health amid an epidemic of Tommy John surgeries, having a support system is crucial. And who better to have your back and pick you up than your teammates?
Of course, it was on Gilbreath himself to do the work to get back to top form, and do the work he did. One of the biggest motivators for him was the loyal Rockies fan base, and his want to do right by them.
That made the moment he took the hill, and the reception he received from the Coors faithful, all the sweeter.
“That was one of the cooler moments I’ve had (in my career),” he said. “I told somebody, it’s as close as I’ve had to, like, my debut. I was thinking ‘Oh gosh, this is crazy.’”
If there’s one slight positive to take from his time away from MLB, it’s that the rehab time allowed Gilbreath to discover a role he didn’t know he had the chops for – being a social media star.
Some athletes shy away from the spotlight, especially on a platform like TikTok, but Gilbreath used his rehab period to enter a brand new sphere of engagement with fans.
@lgilbreath2 Didn’t know how to address this so I figured I’d use a trend #mlb #pitcher #tommyjohn #depressed #sad #hatemylife
The platform isn’t just for darkly humorous posts, though. Gilbreath wants to use social media as a way to provide context and educational content to people, be they Rockies fans or young aspiring ballplayers alike.
“I started it kind of just for fun,” said the budding influencer, “and then eventually I realized it’s a good opportunity to provide a little educational content. I do some fun stuff (too). As I learned the algorithm and stuff, I kind of learned that I needed to do a combo of all those three things – I always say it’s educational content, funny content, and then viral content.”
Sounds like he’s got it down to a science, huh?
“Yeah, I’m kind of a nerd about it.”
He laughs as he clarifies that at the end of the day, it’s not just about him. Gilly wants to be somewhat of a mentor or resource to those that watch his content.
“For me it was cool to learn because it’s like, if I want to reach more people, I need to do some of the viral stuff,” he said, “but at the same time, my goal of the Tiktok is to help kids that may not have pitching coaches, or may not have the ability to do lessons and stuff. It’s a good way for me to provide kind of entry-level information for some of these kids.”
He’s got a big arm, but a bigger heart.
While there’s not much of the season left, things are just getting started for Gilbreath. What reps he gets in this year will go a long way to ramping him up for 2025. Here’s hoping he can continue the excellent work he did the last couple seasons and reclaim his wipeout stuff.
Just don’t forget us little people when you’re the next Charli D’Amelio, okay Gilly?