Top Landing Spots for Free Agent Kyle Gibson

Players report to spring training in just over five weeks, but there are still multiple free agents without a new contract tying them to a team for 2025. Starting pitcher Kyle Gibson is one of those players, still on the market after the St. Louis Cardinals declined the club option on his contract at the end of 2024 to make him a free agent for the third consecutive winter.

Gibson is going into his 13th season in the majors, having debuted with the Minnesota Twins on June 29, 2013. He stayed with the Twins through 2019, and since then, he’s had stints with the Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, and — most recently — the Cardinals, accumulating a career record of 112-108 with a 4.52 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and 1,510 strikeouts in 1,865.2 innings of work (330 appearances, 324 starts).

The right-hander has often struggled with consistency throughout his career — as reflected in his 93 ERA+ — but he’s also proven himself capable of shining moments. He earned an All-Star selection in 2021 for his performance during the first half of the season with the Rangers, and has finished three seasons with sub-4.00 ERAs (2015, 2018, 2021). Gibson is also remarkably durable, spending a total of just 74 days on the injured list over the last 12 years, which is almost unheard-of for pitchers in today’s baseball landscape.

Gibson celebrated his 37th birthday in October, but he can still reliably eat up innings every fifth day. In 30 starts with the Cardinals last year, he went 8-8 with a 4.24 ERA and 151 strikeouts, marking the fifth time in his career that he’s struck out at least 150 batters in a season.

With 12 seasons of experience under his belt, Spotrac projects Gibson will secure a two-year, $26.8 million deal out of free agency this winter. Here are three teams who are likely to pursue a contract with the right-hander before Opening Day.

Top Kyle Gibson Landing Spots

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves lost two starters — Max Fried and Charlie Morton — to free agency at the end of 2024, putting their rotation in a precarious position. Fried signed with the with the New York Yankees on December 17, closing the door on any possibility of a new deal with Atlanta, but up until January 3, it was unclear whether the Braves would try to reunite with starter Charlie Morton this winter. Any hopes of that disappeared when he signed with the Baltimore Orioles on a one-year, $15 million deal, and now, the Braves need to fill the gaps in their rotation.

On January 6, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman named Gibson as a potential fit for the Braves, comparing his career to Morton’s.

“Morton is 41, but he’s also one of just 20 pitchers who have totaled 500-plus innings over the past three seasons,” Bowman wrote. “The 37-year-old Gibson is the only remaining free agent who fits the same description. Morton was more effective whether looking at ERA (4.06 vs. Gibson’s 4.68) or Expected Weighted On-Base Average (.323 vs. Gibson’s .333) over this span. If Gibson were willing to take a one- or two-year deal with an AAV (average annual value) less than $15 million, then he might make some sense.”

Gibson would come cheaper than almost all other remaining options in free agency — including Max Scherzer, who was recently linked to the Braves — and as Bowman pointed out, he’s the only remaining starter who has pitched over 500 innings in the past three seasons. The Braves need a reliable arm to fill out their rotation, and with comparable stats, a low projected salary, and incredible durability, Gibson is as good a replacement for Morton as Atlanta is going find.

Athletics

Famously known as a team that never loosens the purse strings, the Athletics have been uncharacteristically aggressive this offseason, ranking ninth in MLB for free-agent spending, as of January 10. Most of that spending was on pitcher Luis Severino, who the A’s signed to a three-year, $67 million deal — the largest in franchise history — on December 6, but one-year deals for infielder Gio Urshela and T. J. McFarland also helped.

The team’s most recent move came on January 7 when they extended designated hitter Brent Rooker to a five-year, $60 million deal with a vesting option that could bring the contract’s worth up to six years and $90 million. So, with a newfound love of offseason spending, could a veteran pitcher be the Athletics’ next move?

Just Baseball’s Ryan Finkelstein predicted the Athletics would land Gibson on a one-year, $12 million deal this winter, commenting that the team “should take their money and buy as many quality MLB innings as they can, and Kyle Gibson can provide them.”

If the Athletics are looking for return on investment, Gibson is an obvious choice. He can eat innings at the back of the team’s rotation, while also being able to jump in as a reliever if needed, and even though the A’s would likely prefer a left-hander, Gibson offers a reliability they won’t get in too many other pitchers. With the Athletics almost certain to lock down at least one veteran arm to round out their rotation this winter, Gibson would be a clear fit.

Milwaukee Brewers

So far this winter, the Milwaukee Brewers have been relatively quiet. They made news when they traded pitcher Devin Williams to the New York Yankees for lefty Nestor Cortes and infielder Caleb Durbin, but otherwise, the team has largely stuck to minor league moves. As it currently stands, the Brewers have a solid roster — even after losing Willy Adames at the end of 2024 — but as they look to build on their 2024 success, Milwaukee could benefit from adding rotation depth.

On December 31, the Brewers announced they’d reached an agreement on their broadcasting rights with Diamond Sports Group, but even after finally closing that chapter of financial limbo, Milwaukee isn’t going to add much more payroll before 2025. Any acquisitions will need to be extremely team-friendly, which is why Gibson makes a lot of sense.

Although Spotrac is projecting Gibson’s market value could land him a two-year deal this winter, the fact that he’s signed one-year deals for each of the last two seasons means he’d likely accept one again, if that better suits the Brewers. Expected to earn around $13.4 million next year, Gibson wouldn’t break the bank, and considering the 37-year-old’s proven durability, Milwaukee would certainly get their money’s worth in innings pitched.

Even with Cortes joining the rotation, the Brewers could use some reliable injury insurance, and Gibson would provide that. Cortes has had unfortunate luck with injuries over the last two seasons — he missed almost all of the Yankees’ postseason campaign last season with a left elbow flexor strain, and managed just 12 starts in 2023 due to a rotator cuff strain — and if that continues, the Brewers would appreciate having Gibson available.