DETROIT – Kyle Gibson has started 188 games as a Twin. But as the first playoff series of his career approaches, the righthander is transitioning to a new role.
And that's fine with him.
Gibson met with Rocco Baldelli late last week and assured the manager he is ready to do whatever he's asked.
" Listen, I haven't played here for 6½ years to get this close to winning some playoff games and cause a fuss based on when I pitch and where I pitch and stuff like that," Gibson said he told Baldelli. " So wherever you think is best that I can help the team, that's where I'm going to go."
On Tuesday, it meant pitching the seventh and eighth innings in relief of Jake Odorizzi, an outing that didn't go as smooth as Gibson hoped, but it represented a reasonably good first step. Gibson — who fought E. coli in the spring and colitis last month — has a 7.14 ERA since Aug. 1, so while allowing one run and four hits over two innings wasn't ideal, it's also something Gibson and Baldelli feel he can build upon.
"Shortening him up is something we've discussed for a little while," Baldelli said. "A lot of it has to do with his physical state and taking advantage of his top form, as opposed to him grinding out these starts where he's throwing 100 pitches. We wanted to get the absolute best out of him — go out there and rip some sliders and some changeups, and have his top-end [velocity]. I think he enjoyed it."
He did, especially because Gibson says that, while he's not completely over his illness, he's a lot stronger than he was last month. He threw 43 pitches Tuesday (32 for strikes), and he's optimistic he can contribute from the bullpen.
"We'll see where it takes us. Some days it could be starting and going two or three innings, some days it could be coming in like [Tuesday]," Gibson said. "I'm just excited to get out there and pitch and keep feeling good."
