Right-hander Kyle Gibson explained why he decided to reunite with the Baltimore Orioles on a one-year deal for the 2025 season
According to Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner, Kyle Gibson explained his decision to return to Baltimore after spending the 2024 season with the St. Louis Cardinals:
“Playing at home last year [in St. Louis], I got a little spoiled, driving to the field every day and tucking the kids in and taking them to school,” Gibson said. “So we tried to find an opportunity that was more in the Midwest if it was possible, and those just didn’t come up. And then we talked about Baltimore, this was a place we really enjoyed. We knew the clubhouse really well. It was one of the places we thought, if there’s somewhere to play after playing in St. Louis, this is one of those places that would be pretty special.”
Gibson was a key part of the Orioles’ rotation in 2023, posting a 15-9 record with a 4.73 ERA in 33 starts. The 37-year-old was also effective with the Cardinals last year, finishing with an 8-8 record and a 4.24 ERA in 30 starts.
Since remaining unsigned, Kyle Gibson has been throwing to college hitters in spring training. However, manager Brandon Hyde made it clear on Friday that Gibson won’t be ready for Opening Day:
“He’s going to have to go through pretty much a whole spring training-type of ramp-up, so it’s going to be a while,” Hyde said. “He’s not going to be ready for a long time, so as you saw last year, it takes a lot of starters. We used a lot of starters last year. So just adding another rotation piece we felt like is important.”
As of now, Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano, and Dean Kremer are the top four starters for the Orioles. Albert Suarez and Cade Povich are still competing for the No. 5 spot. However, the Orioles are familiar with what Kyle Gibson brings to the table, and once he’s ready, he could certainly step in and make starts as needed.
