BRADENTON, Fla. — Kyle Gibson went into 2024 knowing if he didn’t pitch well, that would be it.

In his late 30s, Gibson signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals, just a short drive from his home in the St. Louis area. If that’s how he went out, playing close to home with his wife, Elizabeth, and their four children, that would be OK, he thought.

“I was content with it,” Gibson said in the Orioles’ clubhouse Saturday morning after signing with the team the night before.

But he did pitch well. In 30 starts, Gibson posted a 4.24 ERA, his best since he was an All-Star in 2021, and a .251 batting average against, the third lowest in his career. That didn’t result in teams clamoring over Gibson this offseason, though.

The longer he went with only minor league contract offers with invites to spring training, the more he started to think he’d thrown his last pitch. Gibson joked with his agent each time a starting pitcher signed, texting him, “OK, I gotta be next,” but the days, weeks and months went by.

“I kind of knew if the right opportunity came up, then I’d have a decision to take it or not,” Gibson said. “If opportunities didn’t come up, then you’re telling me I have to stay home with my kids and wife? OK, that wasn’t going to be a big deal. That was going to be a lot of fun, too.”

About a month ago, Gibson and his wife talked about what teams he should be open to signing with, especially considering he’d join late in spring training. If it couldn’t be a team in the Midwest, they both agreed on one team that made sense: Baltimore.

“As we talked about Baltimore, this was a place that we really enjoyed,” Gibson said. “We know the clubhouse really well and it was one of the places where we thought, if there’s somewhere to play after playing in St. Louis, this is one of those places that would be pretty special and fun to be a part of.”

A week later, Mike Elias called.

After Grayson Rodriguez went down with an elbow injury, the Orioles were without one of the best pitchers in their rotation, raising questions about whether they’d have enough rotation depth to make it through if the injury bug struck again this season. Elias reached out to Gibson’s agent to discuss the possibility of a reunion, and an offer came through last week.

After battling the flu along with three of his four kids, Gibson agreed to the one-year, $5.25 million contract Thursday and it was announced Friday night.

“Obviously, I was pretty excited,” Gibson said. “This was a place that was pretty special for my family in 2023.”

The only downside of signing up for another year in the show is Gibson knows the extra dad time he got last year and this winter is ending. Last season, he was “spoiled” by being able to spend more time with family — taking them to school on night games and tucking them into bed after day games.

“I think that was probably some of the hardest part,” he said. “I kind of not quite reserved that it was over, but I had been pretty content spending some time with the kids. So leaving them Thursday night was pretty tough.”

Gibson started opening day for the Orioles in 2023, winning 15 games and posting a 4.73 ERA. He pitched a team-high 192 innings and no American League pitcher started more games than his 33 that season. But his contributions as a leader in a young clubhouse were perhaps greater than those on the field, helping guide the team to a 101-win season.

Gibson was so respected in Baltimore that teammates still talked about him last year and this spring. Charlie Morton, a 41-year-old starter the Orioles signed this offseason, said the younger pitchers on the staff all raved about Gibson.

“Everyone that I’ve talked to — I mean, guys were talking about Kyle to me when I first got here,” Morton said. “They were like, ‘Oh yeah, Kyle was this guy in the clubhouse. Gibby was one of the best guys I’ve been around. A great teammate.’”

Gibson knowing he would jell with the Orioles’ clubhouse was a factor in him saying yes to the contract offer.

“Every time you join a new team, you’re kind of playing it out in your head. ‘What’s the locker room like? How am I going to fit in? What’s the dynamic going to be?’” Gibson said. “One of the questions I got was how do I think about joining camp this late and joining a team late. This was an easy question for me.”

Gibson said he’s thrown about four bullpen sessions of between 50 to 70 pitches. Manager Brandon Hyde said Friday that the right-hander will need several weeks to be ready to pitch in big league games.

Gibson believes he’s “ahead of schedule” compared with how he’d normally feel beginning spring training. He hopes it won’t take a full six weeks for him to get ready.

“Try to do a little bit of a normal buildup, but I do think I have the ability to speed it up,” he said.

Whenever he does arrive, Gibson will be asked to do what he’s always done: Eat innings, mentor teammates and help the Orioles win.

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.