The Cards continue to add to their pitching staff, signing veteran Gibson .
Β The Cardinals also addressed what President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak called a strong need for “volume” on their pitching staff, signing the 36-year-old right-hander to a one-year contract.
Wings of Extremism.
Hander Kyle Gibson on Tuesday.
The deal, which includes a club option for 2025, was signed a day after the Cardinals signed 36-year-old right-hander Lance Lynn to his second contract with the club.
A former star at the University of Missouri, the 6-foot-6 Gibson is an 11-season MLB veteran and will start 33 games for the Orioles in 2023, posting a 15-9 record with a 4.
73 ERA.
left behind.
He allowed the most hits in the American League with 192 innings and had 157 strikeouts.
He appeared in one game in the postseason, allowing the O’s a solo home run in relief in the third inning in Game 3 of the AL District Series against the eventual World Series champion Rangers.
Gibson and Lin combined for 28 wins, 65 starts, 375 2/3 innings, and 348 strikeouts for 4,444 in 2023, making them proven products the Cardinals need in their rotation going forward.
“The difference between this offseason and last year, when we gave a lot of young players a chance, is.
.
.
we want to go into games with a little more confidence and we want to have a veteran presence.
β Mozeliak said.
Tuesday at Busch Stadium.
“What we did with Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson is we brought in two guys who know how to do it, what they do and why they do it.
“Young players.
Sometimes things come along and surprise us.
.
.but what we ultimately don’t want to say is that we expected X, Y, and Z and end up being disappointed.
” We’re just trying to stay a little bit safer and get more birds so that when we go into the game every day, we have a starting pitcher and a chance.
”The Cardinals are 71-91 with 33 losses.
For the first time in a year, they finished last in the district.
At the start of the offseason, only two starting pitchers, Miles Mikolas and left-hander Steven Matz, were signed for 2024, and Mozeliak has repeatedly mentioned the need for pitching both on the starting staff and in the bullpen.
The Cards finished 2023 ranked 24th in MLB overall ERA (4.
79), 26th in starting ERA (5.
07), and 23rd in relief ERA (4.
47).
Mozeliak emphasized Tuesday that the Cardinals are far from finished when it comes to adding pitchers.
He said the Cardinals have players such as National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, Japanese import Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and veteran right-hander Sonny Gray, who are active in the top tier of free agent pitchers.
He said it may continue.
Mozeliak also noted that the club has not yet intensively considered the possibility of trading the pitcher, but it is likely an option if the club feels the price is too high for some free agents.
right.
According to Mozeliak, the Cardinals needed to take advantage of the fact that Lin and Gibson have expressed a strong desire to play in St.
Louis — a place both are familiar with in their baseball careers.
Mozeliak said the Cards can’t afford to miss this, as there’s always a chance the club changes direction and misses out on free agency.
“We knew we needed innings.
If we go out and sign a good, exciting pitcher, where do we go to fill [innings]?
” he asked.
.
βSometimes the timing wasn’t necessarily tied to our patience.
Acquiring two players who pitched a total of about 200 innings last year,
