Early in the offseason, the Kansas City Royals acquired Jonathan India and shipped off Brady Singer in a blockbuster trade; nonetheless, the team has remained relatively quiet the rest of the winter. On Wednesday, the team announced they have made a signing to add to their pitching depth. The Royals have signed left-handed pitcher Ross Stripling to a minor league contract, and the lefty will participate in Major League Spring Training.
The Los Angeles Dodgers drafted Stripling in the fifth round of the 2012 MLB Draft, and he made his debut in 2016. Although he was an All-Star in 2018, Stripling never really found his footing in Los Angeles, as he shuffled back and forth between Triple-A often. The Dodgers traded Stripling to the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2020 season, and the lefty stayed north of the border for a couple of seasons. Across his two full years with the Blue Jays, Stripling had a 4.02 FIP and logged 235 2/3 innings over 56 games (43 starts).
The San Francisco Giants were home to Stripling in 2023, and the lefty put up a 5.36 ERA in 22 games (11 starts). The other (well, former other) Bay Area team, the Oakland Athletics, staffed Stripling in 2024. Stripling posted a 3.89 FIP in 85 innings for the A's.
Kansas City's rotation is difficult to poke holes in. Left-hander Cole Ragans recently signed a three-year extension and headlines the starting staff after finishing fourth in American League Cy Young voting last season, where he maintained a 2.99 FIP over 32 games and starts. Right-hander Seth Lugo finished second in Cy Young voting and — with his 3.00 ERA and 181 punchouts in 206 2/3 innings — put up some of the best stats of his nine-year career. Lugo signed a three-year contract with the Royals in December of 2023.
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Right-hander Michael Lorenzen turned in a sub-2.00 ERA in six starts for Kansas City down the stretch in 2024; southpaw Kris Bubic served in the bullpen last year, but he will get stretched out to start this spring.
Rounding out the Royals' rotation is Michael Wacha. Kansas City signed Wacha to a three-year deal over the winter after the 33-year-old righty had a 3.35 ERA in 29 starts last year. Wacha was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2012 — the same year as Stripling. The right-handed Wacha played his college ball at Texas A&M — the same school as Stripling. In fact, the two hurlers were college roommates.
Back in 2016, in an early May matchup between the Dodgers and Cardinals, Stripling beat Wacha for his first Major League win.
You just have to wonder if the baseball gods brought these two friends back together in Kansas City.
