Stripling in 'a good spot' with KC, signs Minors deal

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The Royals added a veteran pitcher to their Spring Training roster on Wednesday by agreeing to a Minor League deal with Ross Stripling, the team announced, and the righty was in camp by Thursday ready for Day 1.

“This always felt like a good spot,” Stripling said. “Love what they did last year, I’ve always loved competing against a lot of guys in this locker room, and kind of lo and behold, finally were able to sync up and make it happen. Within three hours, I was on a plane with my two little kids. And here we are.

“This feels right. Definitely excited about the opportunity. I know a lot of things have to go well, but I’m ready physically.”

Kansas City had reached out to Stripling’s representation early in the offseason to gauge interest, as the front office and coaching staff has always had an interest in what he could bring to a pitching staff. He went through the winter looking for a Major League deal, but nothing came to fruition. Finally the deal with the Royals was finalized.

Stripling, 35, has nine years of MLB experience, recording a 4.17 ERA in 248 career games. He’s started 129 of them and has made at least a handful of starts each season. He spent last season with the A’s, collecting a 6.01 ERA across 22 appearances (14 starts), but he dealt with an elbow strain and a back strain.

Stripling’s FIP, however, was 3.89. His +2.12 differential between FIP and ERA ranked as the highest in the Majors last year (min. 80 innings).

Stripling also has a career 5.6% walk rate since he debuted in 2016. Despite his struggles last year, his walk rate was still only 5.8%. And as a pitch-to-contact pitcher, he feels confident about the Royals’ solid defense behind him.

“He’s a proven Major League pitcher,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “I've seen a lot of him over the years. He has unique pitch characteristics, a really high arm slot, good breaking balls, throws a ton of strikes.”

The righty began his career well enough with the Dodgers and was an All-Star in 2018. He posted a 3.01 ERA in 134 1/3 innings with Toronto in 2022. But he also had ineffective stints with the Giants and A’s over the past two seasons.

“When you look at my baseball card stats, I don’t have anything that I can say I’m proud of, really,” Stripling said. “But if you look at some underlying stats, some of the analytical stuff, I threw the ball as well as I’ve ever thrown, and that was frustrating.”

The Royals have been searching for more depth for their pitching staff, and Stripling certainly brings experience to the big league Spring Training clubhouse. He also has experience pitching in relief for contending clubs, so the Royals could rely on that if they need a swingman or long reliever. He pitched in the postseason with the Dodgers in 2016, ‘17 and ‘19 and with the Blue Jays in ‘20, all in relief.

There’s no clear path for Stripling to the Major League roster. As an XX(B) free agent, Stripling can be granted his unconditional release if he doesn’t make the Opening Day squad (or opt to stay with the club in Triple-A if he wants). But the Royals have already had some injuries pop up in camp, with both Alec Marsh (right shoulder soreness) and Kyle Wright (mild hamstring strain) delayed in their progressions.

It doesn’t hurt to have another depth arm building up to multiple innings. He’ll throw his first bullpen on Friday and is ready to pitch in whatever role the Royals envision for him.

“What these guys did on the mound last year was special,” Stripling said. “It’s going to be a tough roster to crack. … I haven’t been in this spot in a long time. It’s actually refreshing and going to be a lot of fun. And probably going to have some nerves in my bullpen tomorrow and be paying attention to who’s got their eyes on me. That’ll be fun.

"But at the end of the day, I know I just need like 15 innings this spring to show that I am who I am, and who I’ve always been, and then just let the chips fall where they may.”

Kansas City now has 66 players in big league camp, including 35 pitchers.