2022 Dodgers in review: Ian Gibaut

It’s time to look back at the Dodgers tenure of pitcher Ian Gibaut, but mostly this serves as a confession. These are my favorite types of season reviews, and in many ways the reason why I do them in the first place.

Ian Gibaut did not pitch for the Dodgers in 2022, but he was on the team. Even joining the 40-man roster would have been enough for the right-hander to merit a review, but Gibaut reached another level. He was on the active roster for two days.

Gibaut pitched parts of 2019-21 for the Rays, Rangers, and Twins, then signed a minor league deal with the Guardians in March. He was called up to Cleveland and pitched one game before getting claimed off waivers by the Dodgers on June 30.

One day later, during a home series against the Padres — a series the Dodgers won, in case you forgot — Gibaut was added to the active roster with left-hander Justin Bruihl getting optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

The Dodgers won that night’s game by four runs, with Tony Gonsolin pitching 7⅔ innings. The next day, Tyler Anderson lasted 6⅓ innings in a game the Dodgers won by five. The bullpen, in a relative sense, was not needed too much in these games.

David Price returned from the family medical emergency list before the final game of the series, and to make roster room Gibaut was designated for assignment. Two days later, the right-hander was claimed by the Reds.

Gibaut was an active Dodger, suiting up for two games. As real as it gets, but if you look at Baseball Reference he’s not listed among the players on the 2022 team. He wore uniform number 57, later adorned by right-hander Jake Reed, who was acquired by the Dodgers ten days after Gibaut’s departure.

Not to place too much importance on these season reviews, but I sort of view them as a record or snapshot of the time. It was the reason I started writing week in review posts back in 2009, so there’d be some place to easily glance at the player stats for that particular week.

By all accounts, Gibaut was a Dodger in 2022, even if he didn’t play for the team. Just like Carson Fulmer was for two days in April and May, and just like Ryan Meisinger was for a day in September 2021. Or Shawn Zarraga in 2016, or Mike Antonini in 2012.

Neither Zarraga nor Antonini ever played in the majors, but when I caught up with Antonini in 2016, the left-handed pitcher had a very healthy perspective on his experience.

“Being called up to the major leagues is a childhood dream for many people. I recognize that as a great accomplishment because the number of people who get to put on the major league uniform is a very small percentage,” Antonini said six years ago. “A lot of people call it a cup of coffee but I see it as I only got to pick out my creamer!”

It wasn’t quite that experience for Gibaut, who pitched in three seasons before 2022, and found a home in Cincinnati’s bullpen after getting claimed, posting a 4.67 ERA, 3.03 FIP, and 3.27 xERA in 34⅔ innings for the Reds.

Baseball Reference shows Gibaut as having pitched for five major league teams — the Rays, Rangers, Twins, Guardians, and Reds. But we know better. Gibaut is a six-team player.

2022 particulars

Age: 29

Stats: DNP for Dodgers; 4.50 ERA in 36 IP for both Ohio teams, 48 K, 18 BB

Salary: unknown

Game of the year

Gibaut did not pitch in either of the two games for which he was active, and both were wins over the Padres that weren’t close. We’ll go with July 1 here, the first game Gibaut was active. Perhaps his mere presence inspired Tony Gonsolin to last a career-best 7⅔ innings while improving to 10-0. Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger homered in the win.

Roster status

Gibaut remains on the Reds’ 40-man roster, and is out of options.