The Blue Jays and Ross Stripling: A Perfect Match?
The Jays appear to be in the market for an arm or two to help out in the bullpen after losing their closer, Roberto Osuna, to an 80-game suspension. The names that have been thrown around so far are Seung Hwan Oh and John Axford, but there are plenty of other available relievers out there who could come at a lower cost than those two. Ross Stripling would fit the bill nicely. He’s cheap, having made just $545,000 last year, and he’s under team control until 2021 with options for 2022 and 2023 as well.
At first glance
The Toronto Blue Jays seem like they’re in a good spot with their pitching staff. They have a solid rotation led by Hyun-Jin Ryu, a deep bullpen, and some interesting young arms. But a closer look reveals some potential problems. The depth isn’t as good as it appears, Ryu is coming off an injury-plagued season, and the young arms are unproven. Enter Ross Stripling. He would be one of the best pitchers on Toronto’s roster, but there are three problems. First, he has just pitched more than 30 innings for the first time in his career; second, he makes too much money ($6 million this year); third, Los Angeles could easily replace him (they have plenty of options). If anyone can figure out how to make this deal work without hurting themselves too badly (or at all), it might be Jon Daniels and Co. Not only does L.A. need to trim payroll, but they also want to avoid losing any talent from the farm system. Trading their best pitcher for someone who won’t be nearly as valuable for them seems like a win-win situation for both sides of the equation.
Here's what Toronto should offer: C Max Pentecost or C Riley Adams, INF Richard Urena, RHP Sean Reid-Foley, RHP T.J. Zeuch 1B/DH Rowdy Tellez, 2B Samad Taylor
First base is something Toronto needs to address this offseason because Justin Smoak looks set to hit free agency. Rowdy Tellez showed promise last year (.818 OPS in 52 games) and could hold down the fort if another slugger isn’t brought in. Taylor Samad showed flashes of brilliance before getting called up (.938 OPS in 10 games) so they might not want to trade him away either.
A closer look at Toronto
The Toronto Blue Jays have been one of the most interesting teams in baseball over the last few seasons. They’ve made some big trades, they’ve had some great young players come up, and they’ve even won a couple of playoff games. But they’ve also had some struggles, especially when it comes to their starting pitching. That’s where Ross Stripling comes in. He's got an ERA of 2.69 this season, which is a little lower than his career ERA of 3.47 - and he's thrown at least 7 innings in every start this year except for two (both against the Dodgers). His career WHIP is 1.190 but he's only allowed 16 walks so far this season while striking out 58 batters with a WHIP of 1.230. And while his record is 5-2 right now (with one no decision), if you look at how many runners he has left on base after 5 innings pitched this year, you'll see that it's an impressive 19 out of 28 times - or 64%. And remember that he throws six pitches for strikes! If he's available, I think it would be worth the risk for the Blue Jays to try him out as a starter. It doesn't sound like they're going anywhere anytime soon, and maybe with someone like him taking on that responsibility from time to time, they could find themselves back in contention sooner rather than later. What do you think about the possibility of adding Ross Stripling to their rotation? Is there anyone else you would recommend them looking into? Let me know what you think in the comments below!
There are several other possibilities who might help take some pressure off of their starting pitchers, too. If Clayton Kershaw ever goes down for any extended period of time again, Zack Greinke would certainly make sense. Mike Fiers hasn't had much success since coming over to Milwaukee from Houston, but maybe he could work well in tandem with Marcus Stroman instead of being relied upon as a #1 pitcher. Or Joe Musgrove might be able to offer stability and consistency beyond what J.A Happ has brought to the table since returning from injury. One thing's for sure: whichever direction the Blue Jays decide to go, it needs to happen soon before they get too far behind in their division race. With all these options to consider, it's a lot easier to figure out why the phrase blue jays is slang for change... they need to change something quickly, and they need to change it in a major way.
Everything you need to kn okow about Ross Stripling
Ross Stripling was drafted in the 5th round of the 2012 MLB draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He made his Major League debut in 2016, and was named an All-Star in 2018. He's a right-handed pitcher who specializes in inducing ground balls. In 2019, he had a 3.08 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. The Toronto Blue Jays could use a pitcher like Ross Stripling, who would be a perfect fit for their rotation. They could trade any number of players on their roster to acquire him, including Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Kevin Pillar, Aledmys Diaz or Teoscar Hernandez. Or they could go with a minor trade, trading one of their many talented young pitching prospects such as Anthony Kay or Sean Reid-Foley. What do you think about this potential move? Let us know in the comments below!
How would Ross Stripling look in a Blue Jays uniform? I've gathered everything we need to know about him right here. Let's start with his pitch repertoire: His two main pitches are a four-seam fastball (sinker) and slider, both at 89 mph (tops out at 92 mph). His fastball is pretty straight but has good movement, while his slider is hard and late breaking but slower than average. There isn't much else to say about his pitches--he can get batters out consistently with just those two pitches. As for batting averages against these pitches, he gets lefties out at .226 and righties out at .240--pretty darn good considering that the league average batting average against lefties is .258 and against righties it's .234. Overall, what does Ross Stripling bring to the table? Well, it turns out that since being called up in 2016 he has been really consistent. For example, over the last three seasons he has pitched over 200 innings each year with more than 10 wins every season--which means if you're getting 200 innings of quality baseball from your starter then you're doing well. One thing worth noting is that Ross Stripling doesn't have much experience in relief which makes him less valuable. On the other hand, due to his versatility he could play either long relief or middle relief if needed and might be able to handle closing games occasionally--making him even more valuable. So there you have it: not only does Ross Stripling fill the Blue Jays' needs, but he also fills them better than any other player available in free agency or via trade. It seems like a no-brainer for them to acquire him now before someone else does! If the Blue Jays want to make a push in the playoffs, they'll need to improve their bullpen and Ross Stripling would be a big improvement. With the Blue Jays currently in first place in the AL East, why not try to lock him down before a team like the Yankees, Red Sox or Rays steals him away? Ross Stripling is the type of player that will help the Blue Jays to continue their current success, and could potentially lead them to a World Series.
An alternative option
The Toronto Blue Jays could use Ross Stripling as a reliever. The right-hander has experience starting and pitching in relief, so he would be a valuable addition to the bullpen. Plus, he's shown that he can be effective against left-handed hitters, which is something the Jays could use mormoree of. It seems like a perfect match. The Jays need help for their pen and the Dodgers want to trade him. But there are also some negatives. For one, even though Stripling throws from the right side, his ground ball rate is much higher than most starters' (60% vs 46%). His ERA this year was 3.39 but it was inflated by allowing 13 home runs in only 77 innings pitched (1 per 14 innings). Another downside is that he's eligible for free agency after this season and will likely be looking for a multi-year deal worth around $10 million per year on average. That may price him out of Toronto's range or they may not want to spend that much on a guy who might only be pitching one inning at a time. Regardless, if the Jays were willing to take on that risk, trading for Ross Stripling is an intriguing idea. If things don't work out with him, they could always get rid of him at the deadline for prospects. What do you think about the idea of trading for Ross Stripling? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
On one hand, Stripling would give the Jays flexibility. At only 27 years old, he is still relatively young and under team control until 2020 since they acquired him last month. In 2018, he's making $2 million dollars (prorated) but is arbitration eligible after 2019 which means more money down the road for Toronto. But on the other hand, acquiring a player via trade comes with risk because it's unknown how well that player will perform going forward. Even if it doesn't work out with Stripling, the Jays have a large number of younger pitchers who can fill in effectively enough without costing as much. And while strikeouts are up across baseball, Stripling strikes out less batters than most starters (8 K/9). His best pitch is his slider but he doesn't throw it often enough--which leaves opponents guessing when he does throw it--and his fastball velocity isn't all that impressive.
What Could Happen Next?
The Toronto Blue Jays have been linked to many different starting pitchers this offseason, but one name that hasn't come up as often is Ross Stripling. The right-hander is currently a free agent after spending the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2017, he had an ERA of 3.32 and pitched in 21 games for the team. He also won the NLCS MVP award.
Stripling has yet to sign anywhere for next season, but it's hard not to imagine him coming back at least on a minor league contract with the Blue Jays if they can't make any other signings. His price tag will likely be lower than any other option they're looking at, and it might just be worth taking a chance on him even if it doesn't work out well because there's nothing lost. He would likely be third on their depth chart behind Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez so his innings may not be too high anyway. They'll be paying less for a pitcher who could potentially end up being better than some of the guys they've been connected to. It seems like a perfect match. The Jays need pitching and are willing to spend money while Ross Stripling needs a team to give him an opportunity. Given his past success with the Dodgers, he should be able to do well in Canada as long as they let him take control of the game. If he pitches well enough, then maybe they'll extend him beyond 2018 or trade for another piece later in the year. Either way, signing him now would allow them to avoid having to worry about finding a starter next week when spring training starts. Waiting any longer runs the risk of missing out on someone else or running into unforeseen problems when it comes to adding players from overseas.
Posts
