Free agent right-hander Kyle Gibson is drawing solid early interest, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). As many as ten teams have inquired on Gibson in the early stages of free agency, per the report, though it remains to be seen if that’s a reflection of bargain hunting or a budding bidding war.
It’s hardly surprising to hear that multiple teams are intrigued by the former Twins hurler. Over the past two seasons, Gibson emerged as a mid-rotation starter, logging 356.1 innings with a 4.16 ERA with solid strikeout (22.8%) and walk (8.8%) rates. The sinkerballer Gibson has long posted strong ground ball rates as well, and that’s continued even as he’s increased his strikeouts the past two years. As Heyman notes, Gibson’s 2019 season was shaping up as a solid platform effort before a bout with ulcerative colitis coincided with a significant downturn in production in August and September.
Entering the offseason, MLBTR predicted Gibson would land a two year, $18MM deal with the Cubs. Chicago makes sense as a destination, although virtually every team in baseball could look to add staring pitching in some manner this offseason so the market is wide open. Already 32 years old, Gibson certainly won’t approach the earning power of the market’s top options. That said, he’s a reliable source of innings who would fit into numerous teams’ rotations.
It remains to be seen how a complicated rotation market will sort itself out. It’s generally promising that Gibson has received his share of early contact, but clubs are no doubt looking at quite a few options and hoping to maximize their dollars. There are quite a few starers bunched up in the middle of the market on MLBTR’s list of the top 50 free agents.
Some organizations would surely prefer Gibson’s durability and consistency to younger but higher-risk options on the market, like Michael Wacha and Alex Wood. It’s arguable that Gibson has much of the floor of and more ceiling than the steady Rick Porcello, for example. Perhaps some teams will even see some real upside in Gibson, particularly if they believe he can manage his stomach troubles and thrive. If so, he could be one of the arms to break out with some early bidding pressure, though we’ve yet to see any indication whether that’ll be the case.
Consistently turns in 160-180 innings of meh baseball. For a team like the Angels he’d be a great addition at the right price.
I agree, as long as they dont stop there and think they are set for 2020 lol
He’d be a great complementary piece. Say Wheeler and Gibson instead of just Cole.
Astros could probably fix him
Fix him? The Astros can fix ulcerative colitis? That’s all that was wrong with him last year.
Well, that and historically, he was the same pitcher he always was. Gibson has always been a good start / bad start / good start / bad start type of pitcher. When he let his conditioning go in 2016-2017, it showed and he got called out for it. He got into better shape and returned to the #4 caliber starter he had been.
I think Gibson would be a good signing for the Rockies if they can clear some payroll space by trading a couple big dollar guys away. Colorado would benefit a lot from focusing on ground ball specialists IMHO.
Long as the Jays sign any pitcher not named Rick Porcello, I’m fine.
Jays are probably offering him the chance to see a winning team perform (raptors season tickets) and a penthouse with a nice view to the frozen lake.
Could see Milwaukee signing him but not if it means entering a bidding war.
Ok guys I need to speak about gibby. He did have a down year idk why but maybe that is what you’ll get from him. He is capable of going 200 innings but that season is behind him. He can hit 95 occasionally and has tons of movement. He cannot control that movement though and that’s why he walks like 3-4 guys at least consistently. Would be a good pickup and solid but watch out for a ton of walks and a lot of ground balls.
Maybe if he quit throwing the 2 seam fastball/Sinker he would walk less batters and give up less ground ball/line drive hits
Hopefully the rough patches especially near the end was mostly relating to his illness. He’s a good guy and always gave it his all, want to see him succeed (and get paid :P)
Okay twinsfan368, I need to tell you about Gibby. He’s a back end of a rotation guy who has never posted a single season at or above 3.0 fWAR. He’s inconsistent in performances overall and cannot be counted upon to pitch deep into games and though you say he’s capable of 200 innings… he has never done it once in his entire career. It’s exceedingly rare to see Gibson put together more than 2 quality starts in a row. He’s only accomplished more than 3 quality starts in a row a couple times in his entire career.
He posted 194 innings twice in the last 5 seasons. As recently as 2018. While that’s not 200 it’s not a gigantic stretch to suggest he may be able to give you that production. An innings eating #4 has some value. If you’re thinking he’s much more than that then you’re in trouble.
Good luck, Gibbie. Land a 3 year, $30 million deal, and make a good #4 rotation starter.. Thanks for your time with the Twins.
The Brewers will come calling. It’s not an ideal park fit but he throws strikes and has decent secondary stuff.
I could see the Astros signing Gibson and sitting him down and showing him the heat maps and have him do what Gerrit Cole did.
Nix the 2 seam FB/ Sinker and work more up in the zone with the 4 seam fastball to increase strikeouts and limit balls hit into play and walks.
They could probably get him Down to a 3.20-3.60 ERA
This guy must be good. There’s no word that the Padres are interested. Now that they are back in brown, it does not mean that suddenly they have gotten smart, or have they?
[Sarcasm]
It depends on his price tag. Im interested as a Padres fan
With Graterol, Balazovic, and Duran all nearing their ML debuts, I could definitely see Gibson resigning with the Twins for one more year. If not, I definitely wouldn’t mind Porcello given his durability, high fly ball %, and high spin rate.
Not sure about Porcello but the Twins do have a number of young Arms that are very close to making the roster of a ML Team .
Gibson’s stats pretty much spell it out. Just when you think he’s going to be a disposable quadruple-A depth starter he takes off and pitches like a good mid rotation starter. Just when you think he’s turned a corner he gets slapped all over the place.
What bout my Mets potentially
i doubt it. he’s garbage.
I chose the Rays as his landing spot.
He’s a good fit for a good number of teams. Will come down to a few competitive contracts and proximity to STL. The Royals seem like the best fit to me if they want to spend some cash on that rotation.