Kyle Gibson returns to Baltimore Orioles, agrees to one-year, $5.25 million contract
SARASOTA, Fla. — Right-hander Kyle Gibson returned to the Baltimore Orioles after a one-season absence, agreeing Friday to a one-year, $5.25 million contract.
Reaching a deal less than a week before opening day, Gibson figures to join a rotation projected to include right-handers Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Dean Kremer and Tomoyuki Sugano.
Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez will start the season on the injured list because of inflammation in his throwing elbow.
Gibson, a 37-year-old who went 8-8 with a 4.24 ERA in 30 starts for St. Louis last year, can earn an additional $1,525,000 in performance bonuses. He would get $150,000 each for 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 starts, and $125,000 apiece for 110, 120, 130, 140 and 150 innings.
He was 15-9 with a 4.73 ERA in 33 starts for the Orioles in 2023 on a one-year, $10 million deal, then agreed to a one-year contract with the Cardinals that included a $12 million salary. St. Louis declined a $12 million option for 2025 in favor of a $1 million buyout.
Gibson is 112-108 with a 4.52 ERA in 324 starts and six relief appearances over 12 seasons with Minnesota (2013-19), Texas (2020-21), Philadelphia (2021-22), the Orioles and Cardinals.
Baltimore’s rotation lost ace Corbin Burnes, who agreed to a six-year, $210 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson gets ‘lingering’ injury update ahead of Opening Day
The Baltimore Orioles come into this season with high expectations in what should be a very competitive AL East, but they received some bad news as Opening Day approaches. Star shortstop Gunnar Henderson will start the regular season on the injured list due to a lingering abdominal injury, according to ESPN.
“Henderson, 23, has been out since sustaining a strained intercostal muscle Feb. 27 that knocked him out of Grapefruit League games,” ESPN wrote. “He had returned to some baseball activities a week and a half ago but will no longer make his goal of being ready for Opening Day.
“The Orioles have planned to be cautious in their approach based on Henderson’s history with abdominal muscle strains. He fought through left oblique discomfort the first three weeks of spring training last year.”
Losing Henderson for any amount of time is certainly a big blow for this Orioles team, even though it doesn’t seem like the injury is that serious. He finished fourth in the AL MVP race last season after a stellar 2024 that saw him finish with 37 home runs and 92 RBIs while batting .281.
Henderson is part of an intriguing young core for the Orioles that Baltimore is hoping can compete with the likes of the New York Yankees for the AL East title this season. Baltimore got bounced from the AL Wild Card Series last season in a 2-0 sweep at the hands of the Kansas City Royals at Camden Yards, so the Orioles will be eager to get that sour taste out of their mouths.
Getting Henderson back sooner rather than later is certainly a key part of making that run, but that looks like it will happen sooner rather than later, When the rising star gets back on the field, look out for this Baltimore squad.
