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Jorge CastilloMar 21, 2025, 09:39 PM ET
- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
The Baltimore Orioles signed right-hander Kyle Gibson to a one-year contract Friday, the club announced, reuniting with the veteran to reinforce their rotation less than a week from opening day.
The deal is worth $5.25 million with $1.525 million more in possible incentives, a source told ESPN.
Gibson, 37, returns to Baltimore after serving as a reliable option in 2023 for their upstart 101-win club. He went 15-9 with a 4.73 ERA in 33 outings that season as the Orioles won the American League East for the first time since 2014 and reached the postseason for the first time in seven years.
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This time, Gibson joins a roster with lofty preseason expectations lifted by a talented young core of position players. The rotation is, on paper, the team’s weak link.
Corbin Burnes left in free agency over the winter after posting a 2.92 ERA in 32 starts and finishing fifth in AL Cy Young voting in his only season with the Orioles. The team didn’t acquire an ace to replace him, instead signing 41-year-old Charlie Morton and 35-year-old Tomoyuki Sugano to one-year deals for a combined $28 million.
The rotation took another hit earlier this month when Grayson Rodriguez, the team’s anticipated No. 1 starter, was shut down with elbow inflammation. He will start the season on the injured list.
Gibson does not project as a No. 1 starter, but he should provide stability. A first-round pick in 2009, Gibson has made at least 25 starts in each of his 10 full major-league seasons — and at least 29 starts in nine of the 10.
He went 8-8 with a 4.24 ERA across 30 outings for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2024, finishing the year with 169 ⅔ innings pitched. Meanwhile, besides Burnes, the Orioles didn’t have a pitcher log more than 133 ⅔ innings.
