5 Orioles players that won't be back in 2024

Kyle Gibson

When the Orioles signed Kyle Gibson to a one year, $10 million deal before the 2023 season, the hope was that he would provide quality innings as well as veteran leadership for Baltimore's inexperienced, but talented roster. He didn't necessarily need to be a stud on the mound (although that would have been nice), but they did expect reasonable production out of him for that price.

Now that the dust has settled, the results of that decision have been decided mixed. On the one hand, Gibson has seemed like a positive influence in Baltimore's clubhouse and he did end up throwing nearly 200 innings for the Orioles in 2023. However, he also posted a 4.73 ERA in those innings and seemed to confirm that that is who he is on the mound instead of the guy that went to the All-Star Game in 2021.

The fundamental problem about Gibson is that he is, at his best, a mediocre pitcher. He doesn't miss a lot of bats (his 7.4 K/9 rate this season is right in line with his career norms) and relies on balls in play finding gloves while giving up a lot of hard contact which is...not exactly the recipe for success.

More importantly, the starting rotation is the easiest place on the Orioles' roster to point to when it comes to needing an upgrade. This Baltimore team is very likely to be a top contender again next season and they don't need to be running out veterans with near 5 ERAs and very limited upsides every fifth day. With Gibson set to hit free agency again, the Orioles can just do better than him especially the expected price tag.