Inside The Cardinals

Ex-Cardinals Fan-Favorite Taking Step Back Toward Big League Mound

The former Cardinals fan-favorite is almost back to the big leagues
Patrick McAvoy|
Mar 11, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; A detailed view of Baltimore Orioles baseball hats and gloves in the dugout during the first inning against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
Mar 11, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; A detailed view of Baltimore Orioles baseball hats and gloves in the dugout during the first inning against the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

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St. Louis CardinalsBaltimore Orioles

The St. Louis Cardinals made a specific decision to trim payroll this past offseason and that included moving on from a fan-favorite from the 2024 season.

Before the campaign kicked off last year, the Cardinals desperately needed pitching. The Cardinals went on to sign Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson, and Lance Lynn all before the big wave of free agent signings even took off.

Gray is still with the team and had a great game on Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Lynn recently announced his retirement from Major League Baseball. Gibson waited months for a deal and finally landed a one-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles late in camp.

Because of the timing of his deal, he has had to continue building up not with the big league roster. It was unfortunate how long it took for a team to give him a shot, but it seems like he's almost ready to help Baltimore at the big league level. Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports shared on Tuesday that Gibson will get a start on Thursday at the Triple-A level.

"Kyle Gibson starts Thursday for Triple-A Norfolk," Kubatko said.

That's a positive sign that he's almost ready to go. He did everything the Cardinals could've asked for last year and finished the season with a 4.24 ERA in 30 starts. Even at 37 years old he clearly still knows how to eat up innings and it will interesting to see if he can do the same for Baltimore.

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Patrick McAvoy
PATRICK MCAVOY

Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also is pursuing an MBA at Brandeis University. After quickly rising as one of the most productive writers on the site, he expanded his reach to write for Baseball Essential, a national baseball site in Sports Illustrated Media Group. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Inside The Cardinals, please reach out to Scott Neville: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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