Cardinals Starter Could Be Fit For Royals After Option Declined For 2025
The Kansas City Royals are fresh off of a season in which they defied the odds and rose from 106 losses to clinch the second American League Wild Card spot.
After falling short in the ALDS against the New York Yankees, they are set to begin work on building another contender in 2025. There are some holes that will need to be filled as they try to sustain their recent success.
Michael Wacha is likely to opt out of his contract and hit the free agent market again. However, the St. Louis Cardinals just declined Kyle Gibson's option. Perhaps the Royals could look into signing him.
Gibson went 8-8 in 30 starts with a 4.24 ERA over 169 2/3 innings during the regular season with St. Louis. He was signed to a one-year, $12 million contract last winter.
Spotrac projects he will sign a two-year, $26.8 million contract in free agency. That puts his market value at roughly $13.4 million per year. It's more likely that he'll sign a one-year deal similar to what he signed with St. Louis last offseason.
The veteran right-hander is a graduate of Missouri University, which is not far from Kansas City. The 37-year-old was a reliable source of innings for the Cardinals and could provide similar results for the Royals in 2025.
Kansas City should be able to afford Gibson if they decide to target him. They spent their money wisely last offseason and got great results from Wacha and Seth Lugo.
We'll see if they'll go after Gibson.
More MLB: Dodgers $10 Million World Series Hero Linked To Royals As Possible 'Landing Spot'
Curt Bishop is a freelance sports writer who graduated from Maryville University of St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the field of Communication and currently writes as a contributor for various platforms covering Major League Baseball. Curt’s work includes covering trade and free agency predictions, as well as rumors and news.