Pirates Prospects has learned that catcher Brent Gibbs, who was drafted in the seventh round of the 2016 draft, has retired. This news comes just three days after 2017 32nd round pick Hector Quinones retired.
Gibbs was on the disabled list due to a knee surgery, which occurred back in early March. He was activated from the DL today and moved to the retired list. He was injured part of last year as well (hamstring), plus he missed time in 2015 with a hand injury.
The 23-year-old Gibbs hit .229/.282/.340 in 40 games with West Virginia last year. That was disappointing on the offensive side because his bat was considered well ahead of his defense behind the plate when he was drafted. A knee injury this year didn’t help the fact that he was extremely raw behind the plate, though he did have a strong arm.
He received a $150,000 signing bonus, which was slightly below slot for the seventh round.
The Pirates have had numerous minor league players retire this off-season, including pitchers Nathan Trevillian, Stephan Meyer and Matt Anderson. The Pirates still hold the rights to any recent retired player in the event that they decide they want to return.
