Down goes Gibson

Kyle Gibson looked good in spring
training but hasn't had a quality start
since the season opened.

Kyle Gibson had another rough start Thursday: Four innings, eight hits, four runs. His ERA rose to an unsightly 8.20.

The bullpen gave up another four runs, but it was Gibson who took the loss and the fall, getting optioned out to Triple A Rochester after the game.

I expect him back sooner or later; he's getting paid $2.9 million whether he's pitching in Minneapolis or Rochester. And the Twins are not exactly blessed with a surplus of starters.

But the new regime isn't necessarily committed to Gibson. I wondered early in the offseason if he would be kept around. The answer was yes -- but with a leash shorter than I anticipated.

Nick Tepsech, nominally the fifth starter, is now the fourth starter and he hasn't even appeared in a major league game this year.

The Twins apparently won't need to add a starter -- assuming they're satisfied with Tepesch after he starts on Saturday -- for more than a week. Earlier this week I laid out a theory on why the front office is in no hurry to bring up Jose Berrios, and as far as I can tell that theory stands.

The most likely next fifth starter, I suspect, will be the old fifth starter, Aldaberto Mejia. But things can change.