He’s a newly signed KC Royals pitcher ... and former All-Star. Could he make the roster?
The Kansas City Royals added to their pitching depth this week, signing veteran right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling to a minor-league contract.
Stripling, 35, compiled a 6.01 ERA in 22 games (14 starts) with the Oakland Athletics in 2024. He is a former college teammate of Royals starting pitcher Michael Wacha — both starred at Texas A&M.
“Through my agent, I talked to the Royals earlier in the offseason,” Stripling said. “They were the first team that reached out and expressed any interest. Which is why, now full circle, this feels like a pretty good spot.”
Stripling is a proven big-league veteran. He enters his 10th season looking to rebound from a disappointing year.
He’ll compete for a roster spot with the Royals during spring training.
“It was a frustrating year,” he said of his 2024 campaign. “When you look at my baseball-card stats, I don’t have anything that I can say I’m proud of, really.
“But if you look at some of the underlying stats — you know, some of the analytical stuff — I threw the ball as well as I’ve ever thrown. And that was what was frustrating.”
A healthy competition is underway for the final spot in KC’s starting rotation. Candidates include Kris Bubic, Alec Marsh, Daniel Lynch IV and Kyle Wright ... and now Stripling, who is versatile enough that he could pitch either as a starter or out of the bullpen (he’s made 119 relief appearances).
He knows that earning a spot on the roster will be a difficult task, but Stripling said he is ready to compete in any situation as Cactus League play begins.
“It’s going to be a tough roster to crack, for sure,” he said. “I’m just going to kind of keep my head down and do what I do. Focus on controlling what you can control a little bit. I haven’t been in this spot in a long time. It’s actually refreshing and going to be a lot of fun.”
Stripling was expecting to throw his first bullpen session Friday. Royals manager Matt Quatraro was looking forward to the workout — and having Stripling on the team.
“He’s a proven major-league pitcher,” Quatraro said. “I’ve seen a lot of him over the years. He has unique pitch characteristics, a really high arm slot and good breaking balls. He throws a ton of strikes and is able to compete to both righties and lefties really effectively.”
Stripling specializes in off-speed pitches. He is capable of throwing an effective changeup, sinker and slider, mixing in variations of a cutter and four-seam fastball.
The Royals’ defense could be especially valuable to Stripling’s approach on the mound, something he stressed Thursday. A pitcher to contact, he was drawn to KC’s defensive metrics and the glove-work of Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, Michael Massey, Maikel Garcia and others who man the Royals’ infield.
“I think if you put a good defense behind me,” Stripling said, “I can still be a very good major-league pitcher.”
The Royals begin Cactus League play against the Texas Rangers on Friday at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona.
“At the end of the day, I know I need 15 innings this spring to show who I am and who I have always been,” Stripling said. “I’m just going to let the chips fall where they may from that.”
This story was originally published February 20, 2025 at 1:03 PM.
