Kyle Gibson’s free-agent market reportedly ‘heating up’

Kyle Gibson had an unceremonious finish to the 2022 season — and probably his tenure with the Philadelphia Phillies — but apparently is drawing quite a bit of interest on the free-agent market. According to Jon Heyman of The New York Post, “things are heating up for Gibson.” Heyman confirms that the Pittsburgh Pirates are […]

Kyle Gibson had an unceremonious finish to the 2022 season — and probably his tenure with the Philadelphia Phillies — but apparently is drawing quite a bit of interest on the free-agent market.

According to Jon Heyman of The New York Post, “things are heating up for Gibson.” Heyman confirms that the Pittsburgh Pirates are one of the teams with in on the veteran right-hander, which was first reported by Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic, who says that the Buccos have “genuine and ongoing interest” in Gibson.

While productive at times during the 2022 season, Gibson hit a wall late in the season, posting an unsightly 9.73 ERA over his final six starts of the campaign. Gibson did make two scoreless relief appearances during the postseason, but was largely a non-factor as the Phillies made a shocking run to the World Series.

Still, Gibson has thrown 160 or more innings on six occasions during his career. Even if the 35-year-old is coming off of a season that saw him post a 5.05 ERA and 4.28 FIP, there’s something to be said for consistently going at least five innings.

If Gibson were to sign with the Pirates, he would become the second former Phillie to sign with the cross-state rivals this offseason. This past weekend, former Phillies first baseman Carlos Santana inked a one-year/$6.7 million deal with the Pirates.

A Gibson signing would also indicate that the market for starting rotation depth is heating up. While the top-tier starting pitching options — Justin Verlander, Jacob deGrom and Carlos Rodón — have not yet signed, Mike Clevinger did agree to a one-year/$12 million deal with the Chicago White Sox earlier this week. If Gibson is the next to sign, perhaps his former Phillies teammates Noah Syndergaard and Zach Eflin won’t be far behind.

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