The Reds brought back reliever Ian Gibaut on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The Wasserman client will be in major league camp as a non-roster invitee.
Gibaut, 31, has been with Cincinnati for the past two-plus seasons. The Reds claimed him off waivers from the Dodgers halfway through the 2022 campaign. The righty turned in a 4.67 earned run average across 33 appearances for the rest of the season. Cincinnati kept him on the roster and were rewarded with a career-best showing in ’23. Gibaut worked to a 3.33 ERA over a personal-high 75 2/3 frames that year.
His follow-up was ruined by injury. Gibaut battled a nerve issue in his forearm and required surgery in May. The Reds activated him from the 60-day injured list in the final week of the season. Gibaut pitched twice, tossing two innings of one-run ball with a strikeout. Cincinnati decided not to carry him on the 40-man roster throughout the offseason after an injury-wrecked year. They non-tendered him in lieu of an $800K arbitration projection.
Gibaut will get an opportunity to reestablish himself in camp. His velocity was down slightly in his limited MLB work last year. He averaged 93.6 MPH on his fastball after sitting above 95 during the prior season. That’s not surprising coming off an extended layoff related to forearm trouble. If the offseason allows Gibaut to regain some of that life, he could vie for a spot in the middle innings.
The Reds have six relievers who are essentially locks for Opening Day jobs if healthy. Alexis Díaz, Brent Suter, Sam Moll, Tony Santillan, Emilio Pagán and trade pickup Taylor Rogers will all be in Terry Francona’s bullpen. Nick Martinez could be in the rotation or back in a multi-inning relief capacity. Gibaut joins Bryan Shaw and Alex Young as non-roster invitees who have MLB experience. None of those players can be optioned, so if the Reds select any of them onto their 40-man roster, they’d need to stick in the majors or be designated for assignment.
Nice
Glad to see. Gibaut was so good in 2023. David Bell kept running him out there until his arm fell off. He’s a valuable piece if he can return to form.
Gibaut was great for them. Would also like to see Buck Farmer back.
I bet Ashcraft is part of the bullpen. They seem to have moved on from him as a starter.
I hope they do. Dude could be an absolute hammer out of the bullpen. People may balk at this but I truly believe if healthy he could end up being more reliable than Alexis Diaz. In short stints he will be upper 90’s with multiple pitches and better control.
Absolutely agree. Fuc***g nails too
As long as they don’t put him into any tie games, I’m ok with it.
Reds have been busy little Bs today.
Yes, and I don’t understand. They are a small market team and are supposed to be doing diddly squat. Somebody needs to get the Commissioner on the line to sort this tomfoolery out.
Like this a lot. The moves they made the past few days have me excited. Tito is going to have a ton of options to play with and knock on wood we now have some depth when injuries or slumps arise. Keep going fellas. Bring back Buck and keep an eye out for an upgrade to Fairchild being on the roster. Is it spring yet?
If Fairchild is on the 26 man roster on Opening Day I’ll eat my shorts.
They will taste better if you dip them in honey first. At least it works when eating a hat.
WHO???
THE REDS ARE RUINING BASEBALL! THEY HAVE TOO MANY PLAYERS NOW! MANFRED NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED!
Manfred needs to be interrogated not investigated. Let Pete pass without a pardon, what a piece of garbage.
I’ll be a lot happier if they move on from Benson. He’s had 100 chances and still can’t hit his weight. As far as all these moves today, looks like they’re trying at least.
I’ve seen reports Benson has been working on changing his swing. Let’s take a look at spring training to see the results before we make a call. With his size and athleticism I can see what a beast he could be if he can put it together. Maybe a stint in Louisville to work it out would be best.
He is much better than Pagan
Richardson, Zuluetta, Legumina, & Maxwell all have a legitimte shot at making the Reds bullpen-but have options. Gibaut, Shaw, Young, and SanMartin have a chance to make the roster as well.. I don’r convert Ashcraft or Phillips to relief duty until DJ and Tito sort through this group. Sure wish Castellini would give Krall enough additional payrll money to add Buck Farmer and Justin Turner.