The O’s have agreed to a one-year deal with right-hander Kyle Gibson, according to multiple reports Saturday. The deal, which is pending a physical, has not been confirmed by the club.
This past season was Gibson’s 10th year in the Majors and his second with the Phillies. He recorded a career-low 6.7% walk rate and was a fixture in the club’s starting rotation, making 31 turns on the year. However, he allowed 31 earned runs across 28 2/3 September innings, ballooning his ERA from 4.08 to 5.05 by the end of the regular season. He was relegated to just two low-leverage relief appearances during the team’s postseason run.
That poor finish came one season after Gibson had an extremely successful first half with the Rangers. The 6-foot-6 right-hander began the 2021 campaign by giving up five earned runs in one-third of an inning on Opening Day, but from there, he held opposing hitters to a .194 average and a .546 OPS over his next 15 starts. He registered a 1.51 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP over those 95 innings and would later make his first All-Star Game appearance.
Gibson was sent from Texas to Philadelphia via trade at the end of that July, but he totaled a 5.09 ERA in 11 starts and one bullpen appearance in his first couple of months as a Phillie.
A native of Greenfield, Indiana, Gibson was a first-round Draft pick of the Twins in 2009. He made his MLB debut in 2013 and spent seven seasons with Minnesota. He compiled a 4.52 ERA across 188 starts and 1,087 innings before inking a three-year contract with the Rangers prior to the 2020 season.
Gibson is, at the very least, a sturdy rotation arm. He’s made at least 29 starts in all but one non-shortened season since 2014, which was his first full year in the big leagues. He has also tallied 1,453 innings since the start of that year, which is the fifth most in MLB. Gibson trails only Max Scherzer (1,663), Zack Greinke (1,577 1/3), Gerrit Cole (1,532 2/3) and Madison Bumgarner (1,457 1/3) during that span.
A below-average strikeout pitcher (18.6% career K rate), Gibson has relied on his sinker and slider in recent years to induce grounders. His ground-ball rate fell to 45.9% this past year after being above 50% in four of the previous five seasons. He owns a 94 ERA+ for his career.