After one season with the St. Louis Cardinals, veteran pitcher Kyle Gibson’s contract option was not picked up by the team. Gibson is now an unrestricted free agent heading into the 2025 season. Gibson has a lot to offer a contending team looking for an end-of-the-rotation starter.
Kyle Gibson Free Agent Profile
The Cardinals went into the 2024 season expecting to contend and adding Gibson to bolster their rotation. While the season didn’t go as planned for the Cardinals, the 36-year-old right-handed pitcher held up his end of the deal.
Gibson went 8-8 in 2024 with 4.24 ERA. It was his best season-long ERA in three years and below his career ERA of 4.52. He also struck out 151 batters and had a WHIP of 1.350.
The veteran pitcher proved to be a constant presence for the Cardinals. Gibson started 30 games and pitched 169.2 innings. He averaged 5 ⅔ innings per start. Not once did Gibson miss time with an injury in 2024, only missing time for a bereavement stint for less than a week in June.
Contract Situation
The Cardinals are entering a period where they are cutting costs and focusing on youth. Gibson was owed $12 million for 2025 if the organization had picked up his contract for 2025. The Cardinals will still give Gibson $1 million for not picking up his contract.
The decision to let Gibson enter free agency came at the same time the organization released other veteran pitchers Lance Lynn and Keynan Middleton. Cardinals’ president of baseball operations John Mozeliak told John Denton with MLB.com that not picking up Gibson’s contract wasn’t a reflection of his performance.
“You think back to less than a year ago, when we pursued [Gibson, Lynn and Middleton], and I felt like they fit in really well and I think they were really helpful,” Mozeliak told Denton. “But things also have emerged since then, right? [Andre] Pallante pitched really well, and we traded for [Erick] Fedde. So, we’re certainly in a different spot than we were a year ago. But yes, those veteran guys did everything that we had hoped for.”
Gibson has played for four teams in the past four years. He earned an average of $10.3 million per year in that span. At 37-years-old, Gibson may be due to earn a little less than last year’s $12 million. However, the market for him will likely settle in around the $10 million annually he’s been earning of late.
Fits For Gibson
Gibson offers security as a solid end-of-the-rotation starter. Several teams that feel they can contend for a playoff spot in 2025 will likely take a look at the right-hander as an affordable option to round out their rotation.
Of all starting pitchers entering free agency, Gibson had the seventh highest WAR in 2024 at 4.0. National League teams on the edge of contention like the San Diego Padres and New York Mets could look to add him to help their rotations in 2025.
The Mets have had a revolving door of older starting pitchers over the past year or two. Going into the offseason, Mets GM David Sterns told reporters that started pitching will be a priority for the organization with three of their starters entering free agency.
The Padres have been hit with the injury bug in their rotation over the past year. Joe Musgrove having Tommy John’s surgery late last year makes it unlikely he’ll pitch in 2025. Padres president of baseball operations AJ Preller said at the Winter GM Meetings that he felt the team has enough talent to contend for a World Series. However, to do that they need more security in their starting rotation.
The Texas Rangers will look to rebound from a post-championship hangover season in 2024. With Jacob DeGrom and Tyler Mahle both coming back from Tommy John Surgery in 2025 they are likely excited about the top of their rotation. However, with a weaker bottom half and some unease over the ramping up of those two pitchers, Gibson makes sense for the Rangers as well.
Main Photo Credits: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
