rewrite this title Orioles add veteran pitching depth before Opening Day

The Baltimore Orioles desperately needed to find another pitcher for the starting rotation.

Five starting pitchers, including potential staff ace Grayson Rodriguez, are expected to begin the season on the injured list. Pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano was a star in Nippon Professional Baseball but is unproven in the majors. Charlie Morton, another free-agent signing, is 41 years old and facing the end of his career. Albert Suarez had a breakout showing in 2024 at 34 years old and, as he has struggled in spring training, may be hard-pressed to replicate that performance.

The Orioles struck on Friday by signing the top remaining free-agent starting pitcher. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Orioles signed pitcher Kyle Gibson to a one-year, $5.25M contract. He can earn another $1.525M in incentives.

Gibson had a solid, albeit unspectacular, showing in 2024. He posted a 4.24 ERA and a 1.350 WHiP over his 169.2 innings, striking out 151 batters with 68 walks. Gibson also has one trait the Orioles need: He has pitched at least 147.1 innings in every non-pandemic season since 2014. 

The Orioles and Gibson are also familiar with one another. Gibson was a solid back-of-the-rotation arm in Baltimore in 2023, leading the American League with 33 starts. He posted a 4.73 ERA and a 1.318 WHiP during his previous stint with the Orioles but also took the ball every fifth day.

Gibson will not be an immediate answer for the Orioles, however. Per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Gibson needs to go through a spring-training type of ramp up. It is possible that he will not be an option until late April or early May.