The San Francisco Giants are in agreement to sign veteran righty Ross Stripling to two years and $25 million, according to Jeff Passan. The contract reportedly contains an opt-out clause after the 2023 season for Stripling. The contract is similar to Sean Manaea’s two-year, $25 million deal signed Monday. Stripling had an excellent season for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2022. He pitched to a 3.01 ERA, 129 ERA+, and 1.020 WHIP with 7.4 K/9 and 0.8 HR/9 in 134 1/3 innings. Stripling’s ability to be effective both as a starter and as a reliever adds value.
For the Blue Jays in 2022, Stripling made 24 starts and eight relief appearances. The 24 starts were the most of his career and he excelled at that role. As a starter, Stripling amassed an ERA of 2.92 and WHIP of 0.981 in 123 1/3 innings. His BB/9 was 1.0 and his K/BB was 7.1. His hard-hit percentage on batted balls was only 30% as a starter. Relief in 2022 was not as bright of a spot for Stripling, however. Stripling walked too many batters as a reliever, as evidenced by his 4.9 BB/9 and 1.8 K/BB in 11 innings. His ERA as a reliever was 4.09 and his WHIP was 1.455. These statistics show how good Stripling was as a starter to absorb his less-attractive relief statistics in 2022 and still maintain such great overall numbers.
Welcome to The Bay, @RossStripling 🌉 pic.twitter.com/9Jd4kCeEyW
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) December 13, 2022
Giants Outlook After Ross Stripling Signs
The Giants decision to sign righty Ross Stripling came only one day after signing lefty Sean Manaea. Stripling and Manaea join Logan Webb, Alex Wood, Alex Cobb, and Jakob Junis or Anthony DeSclafani in the Giants rotation for 2023. Some on social media are wondering if the surplus of starting pitching on the roster means the Giants might give up their pursuit of highly-coveted free agent lefty Carlos Rodón.
Imagine a different perspective for a moment. Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi reportedly missed out on a $360 million offer to Aaron Judge earlier this offseason. The Giants have not made any huge moves and all the moves they have made have been short-term commitments. So the Giants probably still have money to spend. If they are still pursuing Rodón, then Zaidi has placed himself in a great position to move forward on the season if he fails to land Rodón.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned:
Ross Stripling, Sean Manaea, Logan Webb, Alex Wood, Alex Cobb, Jakob Junis, Anthony DeSclafani, Carlos Rodón, Aaron Judge
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San Francisco Giants
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