Kyle Gibson Chose To Sign With The Orioles Over The Blue Jays And It's Over For You Hoes
You see that folks? You see that? Kyle Gibson isn't the biggest pickup in the world, he's probably a back end of the rotation kind of guy. But the fact that he openly picked the BALTIMORE ORIOLES over a team like the Toronto Blue Jays shows that the tide is turning with the Orioles. Identical 1-year, $10 millionl deals presented by both teams and Gibson chose the Orioles over the team that probably will be favorites in the AL East if Judge doesn't come back. That is a great sign for the Orioles moving forward, this is a destination where players want to play now. Gibson mentioned a few reasons why he chose the Orioles over the Jays.
The Orioles defense was a huge reason Gibson decided to come to Baltimore. Yes he had a 5+. ERA last year for the Phillies but he's a ground ball pitcher who pitched in front of one of the worst defenses in baseball last year. The Orioles have a top defense, especially their infield with Jorge Mateo at short and Gold Glover Ramon Urias at third. Any pitcher would LOVE to go from garbage defense to a defense like the Orioles. Another reason Gibson wanted to come to Baltimore? Adley. He's a game changer. Played 113 games and guys are already telling the Jays to screw off so they can play with him. He's a catcher who will make pitchers better, he did it with the entire Orioles staff last year. Guys are noticing that and want to pitch to him. Gamechanger.
The wall. People love the wall. It works and this shows. Pitchers will LOVE it, it will drop their ERA and it makes Baltimore a destination for pitchers when before it was impossible to get a pitcher to sign a 1-year deal there. Like Adley, the wall knocks down pitchers ERA and makes decent pitchers look good, imagine what it would do for a good pitcher like Carlos Rodon. It makes this place attractive, there is no denying that. It used to be a bandbox where pitchers wouldn't want to come, now guys absolutely want to pitch here.
And this isn't a big, marque signing by any means. He won't be the last starter the Orioles sign either, but it's a start. But like I was saying, the fact that guys are openly turning down identical deals from division rivals to pitch for the Orioles is a sign of things to come. We're still waiting for other signings to come in but this is a good sign. The things that the Orioles have been doing are working, the wall works, Adley works, it is bringing in free agents. It's only a matter of time before big name guys are lining up to play for this squad. Shoutout to Kyle Gibson for seeing the light and turning down the Jays.