Former Blue Jay Ross Stripling announces his retirement

A former Toronto Blue Jays player has hung up his cleats.

On Monday morning, Ross Stripling announced his retirement from baseball after 13 professional seasons. Nine of those seasons were spent in the big leagues, playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, and the Athletics.

Stripling was selected in the fifth round of the 2012 draft by the Dodgers. Four seasons later, he made his big league debut with them in 2016, posting a 3.96 ERA and a 3.90 FIP in 100 innings pitched. Stripling’s only all-star appearance came in 2018, where he had a 3.02 ERA and a 3.41 FIP in 122 innings pitched.

Before the 2020 trade deadline, the Blue Jays sent Kendall Williams and Ryan Noda to the Dodgers in exchange for Stripling. After two not-so-great seasons with the Blue Jays, Stripling had a career year with the Jays in 2022, posting a 3.01 ERA and a 3.11 FIP in 134.1 innings pitched.

Of his 32 appearances that season, Stripling made a career-high 24 starts. The main reason is that Hyun Jin Ryu went down with an injury and required Tommy John surgery, leaving Stripling to fill in the starter spot. In 123.1 innings pitched as a starter, Stripling had a 2.92 ERA and a 3.04 FIP and was a big reason why the Blue Jays made the postseason in 2022.

Unfortunately, Stripling’s time as a Blue Jay ended that off-season as he signed a two-year, $25 million deal with the San Francisco Giants. In his only season with the Giants, Stripling posted a 5.36 ERA and a 5.21 FIP in 89 innings pitched. That off-season, he was traded to the Oakland Athletics. In his final season, Stripling posted a 6.01 ERA and a 3.89 FIP in 85.1 innings pitched.

All in all, Stripling had a long career with two good seasons. His all-star season was arguably his biggest achievement in the big leagues, but he saved the 2022 Blue Jays’ postseason hopes.