Kansas City Royals Add Former A's Starter

In 2024, the Kansas City Royals did an excellent job of targeting veteran starting pitchers to add to their rotation, signing Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, who both had terrific campaigns for the playoff-bound club. The Royals saw a 30-win improvement season over season from 2023 to 2024, ending last year with 86 wins.

While this week's signing may not quite have the same level of impact in the Kansas City rotation, the addition of Ross Stripling on a minor-league deal is certainly an interesting move.

Stripling spent the 2024 campaign with the Oakland Athletics after he was traded by the San Francisco Giants at the beginning of February. He ended the year with a 6.01 ERA across 85.1 innings in 22 appearances (14 starts), but his FIP was actually pretty solid at 3.89. He ended the year with 1.1 fWAR, even with an ERA over six.

Towards the end of last season, A's on SI talked to Stripling about potentially playing in a minor league ballpark for the A's in 2025, with the Sacramento-bound club set to begin their three-to-four year stay at Sutter Health Park in 2025.

He joikingly said that because of the batter's eye that gives hitters trouble there, that he would love to come back as an opener and toss the first two to three innings before the sun goes down, since that is when it's hardest for opposing hitters. Signing on with the Royals, he may be playing in minor-league parks, just with a different team in the Royals.

This is a solid depth move for Kansas City, who already have the recently extended Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo atop their rotation mix, with a returning Wacha, Michael Lorenzen, and Kris Bubic projected to round out the starting five.

While the Royals' rotation isn't as young as Oakland's was last season, there is certainly a value to having a teammate in the room that has been around the block a bit, pitching as a starter and out of the bullpen. It also never hurts to have someone that spent parts of five seasons in the same clubhouse as Clayton Kershaw.

All of that said, Stripling has struggled a bit the past two seasons, failing to reach 100 innings in either, getting into 22 games in each, and has finished with an ERA+ of 78 in 2023 and a 66 last season. There is still some work that will have to be done in order for him to join Kansas City's rotation.

Right now the Royals have five players listed as starting pitchers on the 40-man roster that aren't in the big-league rotation, according to Roster Resource. Kansas City also has five non-roster invitees that are listed as starting pitchers in camp, so there will be plenty of competition for Stripling to not only get added to the 40-man, but to also make it back to the bigs with Kansas City.

If he does end up making it, then he would be reunited with former A's teammate Lucas Erceg, whom the Royals acquired at the trade deadline last summer.