Why isn’t Kyle Gibson ready to pitch for Orioles? | MAILBAG

Question: I don’t understand why Kyle Gibson – who was unsigned but looking for a team – was not ready to join a rotation. Seems like he should have been as ready as any other pitcher. How long will he be? From: John Miller

Answer: John, there’s quite a difference between throwing to a high school or college catcher and throwing to major league hitters. He was in better shape than a pitcher starting spring training would be, but not ready for the majors.

The 37-year-old right-hander has started once for Norfolk. The guess here is that he’ll start twice more, and perhaps be ready about two weeks from now.

Question: Who is the best player to achieve most of his success with the Orioles, but who began his career with the Yankees? From: Timothy Fowler

Answer: Timothy, I would say Scott McGregor. Even though McGregor never actually played for the Yankees, he was in Triple-A Syracuse when he was part of the trade that sent him, Rick Dempsey, Tippy Martinez, Rudy May and Dave Pagan to the Orioles for Doyle Alexander, Jimmy Freeman, Elrod Hendricks, Ken Holtzman and Grant Jackson.

Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. If you’d like to submit a question, send it to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com. Questions may be edited for clarity, length and style.