Gilbert will be given a legitimate chance to compete with Nick Margevicius and Justin Dunn for the No. 6 spot in the starting rotation during spring training, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

EDGE Analysis

Gilbert secured a spring training invite back in late January, and the Mariners' decision to deploy a six-man starting rotation to open the season gives him an opportunity to make the jump to the big leagues right from the start of the 2021 campaign. It's a development that arguably would have already occurred a year ago had there been a minor-league season, as the precocious right-hander breezed through three levels of affiliated ball as a first-year pro in 2019. Margevicius and Dunn naturally have the edge in big-league experience on Gilbert, but the 23-year-old had an opportunity to gain some valuable seasoning in the team's alternate training site throughout the duration of the shortened 2020 season.