Late Friday night, the Orioles announced the signing of right-hander Kyle Gibson. The 37 year old pitched for Baltimore back in 2023 and the Orioles decided a reunion was in the cards after Grayson Rodriguez started dealing with a triceps issue that’s kept him out of action for the last two weeks.
Gibson is just the type of guy the Orioles need. He’s been as reliable as any other starter over the past four years, making at least 30 starts in each of the last four seasons. He’s not a star but that consistency should help the Orioles, who’ve dealt with a brutal spate of pitcher injuries over the last two seasons.
It’ll likely take Gibson a couple weeks to get up to speed, given the fact that he hasn’t been throwing high level innings over the past six weeks. However, when he is ready to come up to Baltimore, that’s going to inevitable push some guys down the depth chart. Who stands the most to lose when Gibson comes up? Let’s take a look.
These 3 Orioles pitchers have the most to lose when Kyle Gibson arrives in Baltimore
The seemingly most obvious one, the guy who’s on everyone’s mind right now, is Cade Povich. The young lefty has been nails this spring, pitching to a 3.07 ERA while getting a bunch of whiffs and generally looking strong on the mound. He was just on the cusp of earning an official Opening Day rotation spot and he should still make the roster out of camp. However, there’s no clarity on what will happen when Gibson arrives.
Povich struggled a bit in his debut last year. It took him a little while to get his feet underneath him but he did have a couple strong starts toward the end of the year and came into 2025 with a lot to prove. Based on his performance this spring, most Orioles fans are ready to see him get a full slate of starts and see how he handles it. If Povich is pitching well, the O’s could potentially move someone else out of the rotation but Povich is the least established guy and if Gibson and Rodriguez are in Baltimore, Povich probably gets left out.
And if Povich is pitching well when Gibson arrives, what does that mean for Dean Kremer? The 29 year old has taken steps forward recently but he’s posted an ERA above 4.00 in two of the last three years, and that performance in 2022 was in just 125.1 innings. He’s been a reliable arm for the Orioles since he came up but he’s by no means an ace.
Could Kremer be on the chopping block when Gibson arrives? On the surface, it doesn’t seem likely that Kremer will be the first guy out. But if Povich is out-pitching him, Brandon Hyde is going to have a tough choice to make. Or maybe in that case they’d move to a six-man rotation. Either way, Kremer needs to pitch well this year or he’s going to be at risk of losing his spot.
While we could make the case for Brandon Young to be third on this list, Albert Suarez is without a doubt going to be impacted by Gibson’s presence in Baltimore. Suarez is already hampering his chances with his spring performance and adding another capable starter in the mix isn’t good news for him.
Suarez came into his own last year and finished with a 3.70 ERA in 133.2 innings. However, he’s up to a mark of 7.89 this spring, giving up 19 runs in 21.2 innings. He’s likely to start the year in the bullpen, working as a swingman and someone who can go multiple innings when necessary. The addition of Gibson makes it all the more difficult for Suarez to get back to the rotation. With Gibson, Povich, and Kremer all clearly ahead of him, and Brandon Young in the mix as well, Suarez has his work cut out for him if he wants to play a big role in 2025.
