Logan Gilbert’s Evolving Arsenal Could Elevate Mariners In A Huge Way

The interesting thing about Logan Gilbert is that he never really pitches like a guy who needs to reinvent anything. He’s been a frontline starter. And after a 2024 season where he led the majors in innings, starts, and WHIP, then followed it with another strong 2025 in which he posted a 3.44 ERA with 173 strikeouts and a 1.03 WHIP despite missing time, Gilbert has long since moved beyond the phase of his career where he was considered just an interesting young arm.

Gilbert is tinkering in spring training again. Not because he is lost. But because he is good enough to know exactly where the next jump might come from.

The biggest wrinkle is the cutter. Gilbert used it in 2024, then shelved it in 2025, and now it is back in camp with a little more purpose behind it. The early appeal is pretty obvious. In 2024, the pitch generated a 27.4 percent whiff rate, and this spring Gilbert has talked about wanting something he can trust in those annoying behind-in-the-count situations where everything starts feeling a little too fast.

The Next Step For Logan Gilbert May Be Shape, Not Velocity

A pitcher like Gilbert needs options. He needs a pitch that keeps an at-bat from snowballing when he is not sitting in a perfect count. And if this version of the cutter gives him a cleaner glove-side look with more consistent shape, that is a real weapon. Gilbert made mechanical adjustments over the offseason to stay closed and firm on his front side so his arm slot would not drift and flatten the pitch out. That detail makes this feel less like experimentation and more like much needed refinement.

Logan Gilbert's Splitter...still Disgusting. 🤮

[The smile and nod from Gilbert after that pitch. ] pic.twitter.com/Bn7gepTDjv
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) February 23, 2026

Then there is the sinker. Last spring, Gilbert talked about working on a version of one, which naturally led people to wonder if it was really more of a “splinker” than a true sinker. Either way, he is still chasing that shape now, with FanGraphs noting that he has continued to toy with it alongside the cutter as he looks for more ways to mess with hitters. He has already used it for strikes early this spring, which is really all you want from a pitch like that. Nobody needs it to become his calling card. It just has to give opponents one more thing to worry about.

This is not about Gilbert abandoning what already works. The slider and splitter is still the headliner, and the fastball is still what lets the rest of the operation breathe. The new stuff is there to make the old stuff hit harder. The cutter gives him more horizontal action to the glove side. The sinker gives him another lane for early-count strikes. Suddenly, hitters are dealing with more decisions before Gilbert ever gets to the putaway pitch.

The PitchCom wrinkle fits that same theme. According to Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, Gilbert said he planned to use PitchCom to call his own pitches if needed in his next Cactus League outing after forgetting to grab it for his previous appearance. His reasoning was not really about ego or some dramatic pitcher mutiny. It was about pace. With runners on base, too many shakes can run the pitch clock down, rush his delivery, and even help baserunners time their jumps. Gilbert wants a faster, cleaner process.

He’s not trying to become a different pitcher. He’s continuing his attempts to become a more complete one. The Mariners staff already knows it can lean on him like an ace, that should be a pretty thrilling development heading into 2026.