The Baltimore Orioles went 83-79 in the 2022 Major League Baseball season, producing a winning record for the first time since 2016. They’re full of exciting young talent, and now they’re trying to complement that with accomplished veterans in free agency. And on Saturday afternoon, the Orioles reportedly signed a proven starting pitcher to upgrade their rotation and depth.
Baltimore has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with starting pitcher Kyle Gibson, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Passan adds, “[The Orioles] should be in play for other arms.”
Right-hander Kyle Gibson and the Baltimore Orioles are in agreement on a contract, pending physical, sources familiar with the deal tell ESPN.
The Orioles have targeted pitching this winter, and the 35-year-old Gibson is the first domino. They should be in play for other arms.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 3, 2022
The financial terms have not been revealed.
Gibson, 35, had a 5.05 ERA with the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies in 2022. The underlying numbers suggest he was better than that, though. He had a 4.28 FIP and 3.94 xFIP (suggesting his 13.9% home run/flyball rate was a bit unlucky; league average was 11.4), and FanGraphs valued him at 1.8 wins above replacement (a fine mark for a back-end starter).
Additionally, Gibson is just one year removed from a career-best season. In 2021, the right-hander was selected to the American League All-Star team while with the Texas Rangers. He had a 2.87 ERA over 113 innings with the Rangers before being traded to the Phillies in a deadline deal. Overall on the season, he had a 3.71 ERA and was a 3-WAR pitcher.
While it’s hard to project which version of Gibson the Orioles will get (on paper, likely somewhere in between the 2021 and 2022 production), he’s at least a good bet to give them innings and competently. He’s tied for 19th in MLB in innings pitched over 2021-22 at 349 2/3 (only Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara has topped 400 innings pitched over that time).
Gibson is a solid boost the Orioles’ pitching depth as they look to take the next step to serious contention in 2023.