The St. Louis Cardinals finished ten games under .500 last season, finished in last place in the National League Central for the first time in their history, and missed the playoff for the first time since 2018. From last season’s pitching rotation, they have lost Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty to trades at the trade deadline and Adam Wainright to retirement. Yesterday, they added Lance Lynn to their rotation with a one-year deal; he will join a rotation featuring Mile Mikolas, Zack Thompson, Drew Rom, or maybe Steven Matz, who spent time in the bullpen last season. Today, they continued to add pitching by signing Kyle Gibson to a one-year deal with an option for a second-year.
Kyle Gibson By The Numbers
Gibson was initially drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 36th round of the 2006 MLB Draft but decided to go to college at the University of Missouri when he was drafted by the Minnesota Twins at 22nd overall in 2009. He made his MLB debut in 2013 on June 29 for the Twins against the Kansas City Royals; he went six innings, giving up two runs on eight hits, didn’t issue a walk, struck out five, and picked up a win. Gibson pitched for the Twins for seven seasons, making 193 appearances, with 188 of those being starts going 67-68 with a 4.52 ERA, a 4.29 FIP, a 1.41 WHIP, a 1.1 HR/9, a 3.2 BB/9, and a 7.0 K/9. In 2019, he signed with the Rangers and made 31 starts, going 8-9 with a 3.79 ERA, a 4.37 FIP, a 1.30 WHIP, a 1.0 HR/9, a 3.5 BB/9, and a 7.6 K/9. He was traded at the trade deadline of 2021 to the Philadelphia Phillies, where he spent the rest of 2021 and all of 2022 making 43 appearances, with 42 of them being starts going 14-14 with a 5.06 ERA, a 4.21 FIP, a 1.32 WHIP, a 1.2 HR/9, a 2.7 BB/9, and a 7.8 K/9. In 2023, he pitched for the Baltimore Orioles, making 33 starts, going 15-9 with a 4.73 ERA, a 4.13 FIP, a 1.31 WHIP, a 1.1 HR/9, a 2.6 BB/9, and a 7.4 K/9. He has a career WAR of 14.7, a strikeout percentage of 18.7, and a 6.8 walk percentage. He has made four appearances in the postseason, going 0-0 with a 5.68 ERA, a 1.42 WHIP, a 1.4 HR/9, a 7.1 BB/9, and a 5.7 K/9.
