1:05 p.m.: The Giants announced the signing.
11:58 am: The Giants agreed to a two-year, $25 million free agent contract Ross StriplingESPN’s Jeff Bassin reports (Twitter-Link). Stripling, a Beverly Hills Athletic Council customer, may terminate the contract after the 2023 season Exactly the same conditions Giants are used to tumbling into left-handers Sean Manea earlier this week.
The deal includes a $5 million signing bonus, payable in equal $2.5 million installments — one in 2023 and one in 2024, according to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman (Twitter-Link). Stripling is also set to earn a $7.5 million salary next season before deciding to turn down the $12.5 million salary for the 2024 campaign.
Sure, Stribling, 33, is a familiar face, Farhan Zaidi, the Dodgers’ chief of baseball operations, whose time as general manager of the Dodgers overlapped with Stribling’s time in Los Angeles. The veteran served most of the time as a wizard with the majors, often serving as a starting sixth with the Dodgers or with the Blue Jays, who took him on at the 2020 close.
However, in the 2022 season, Stripling entered a full-time rotation role when the Jays lost a left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu For Tommy John’s operation. Stripling proved to be a stroke of luck, making 24 starts and a 2.92 ERA in 123 1/3 innings. That’s an average of just over five frames at first, but Stripling’s results were nothing short of outstanding.
At Stripling, the Giants would add a versatile left fielder who hit multiple innings. He won’t hit many hitters with his fastball averaging just 91.9 MPH, but Stripling makes up for a below-average strikeout rate of 20.7% with a solid hitter average of 43.8% and some of the best orders in the majors. Last season’s walk rate of 3.7% was the third-lowest mark of any pitcher to pitch at least 100 innings in 2022, and an 11% swing strike rate and opponent chase rate of 37, 9% at least suggests that there is some advantage even with walkers pace. .
It should be noted that in 2020-21, Stripling posted an ugly 5.14 ERA and 5.52 FIP in 150 2/3 innings between the Dodgers and Jays, due in large part to a whopping average of 2.2 homers per nine innings is due. Outside of those two seasons, however, long ball has not been a significant source of problems for him, and he hit a career-best .8 homers per nine frames last season. Aside from that grueling two-year fix, Stripling maintains an ERA of under 4.00 in his other five MLB campaigns.
For the Giants, stripling adds more depth to an already strong pool of potential starters. Joins the Manaea mentioned above as a complement to the Ace Logan Webbleft handed Alex Wood And right Alex Cobb And the Anthony Disclavany. The Giants also enjoyed a great swingman recovery Jakob Jones in 2022, giving them no fewer than seven rotation options in the big league squad.
One may well wonder if the stripling add-on officially stops Giants from bidding on ace free agents Carlo Rodon, who has canceled his second year of contract in San Francisco and is said to be aiming for a deal of at least six to seven years this winter. This was reported yesterday by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle The shadow of the giants chased Rodon Even after settling with the blocker, Stripling still pushes his way into the show’s crew.
Regardless of whether Rodon is still in the cards, upcoming additions Manaea and Stripling position the Giants well in the event of injuries elsewhere on the starting team. This is crucial for the Giants because given the health record of many of their inside options, DeSclafani only pitched 19 innings in 2022 due to an ankle tendon injury that eventually required surgery. Wood and Cobb worked with a mostly full roster last year, but Cobb only scored 158 innings from 2019-21 and Wood only managed 48 1/3 innings from 2019-20 due to shoulder and neck problems. Even Webb, who worked in a team-high 192 1/3 innings in 2022, missed a few weeks in 2021 with a shoulder strain.
After bringing Stripling on board, the Giants have a projected payroll of up to $157.6 million and a swanky tax book of over $180 million per roster provider for next season. They’re still over $40 million south of their opening-day payroll of $200.5 million and over $50 million from the $233 million luxury tax limit. That sort of payroll room paves the way for another marquee expansion should the Giants find a deal to their liking. They’ve already added Manaea, Stripling, and Mitch HanigerIn addition to storage Jock Pedersen Despite a qualifying bid, the Giants are tied to Rodon and a prime contender for the free agent shortstop Carlos Correaso Stripling’s charter is definitely not his last off-season move.
