Written by Andrew Baggarley, Grant Brisby, and Melissa Lockard
Since 1968, the Giants and Athletics have shared the Bay Area market. During that time, many famous players and coaches have worn both hats, including Vida Blue, Willie McCovey, Joe Morgan, Barry Zito, Bob Melvin, Matt Williams, and Miguel Tejada. But those moments when a player is traded from orange and black to green and gold, or vice versa, are rare.
In fact, since the Athletics acquired Ernie Lyles from the Giants in 1990 for outfielder Darren Lewis and minor leaguer Pedro Peña, the two cross-bay rivals have had player-to-player deals. Only one was tied. Minor League Contracts (Trenton Brooks and Sean Newcombe). Just weeks before the start of what is likely to be the last season for both teams as rivals in the same market, the Athletics and Giants made a deal that sent veteran right-hander Ross Stripling to the Athletics in exchange for minor league outfielder Jonah. We agreed. cox and cash.
Stripling, who posted a 5.36 ERA in 89 innings as a swingman for the Giants last season, is owed $12.5 million for the 2024 season. League officials confirmed the Giants will pay $3.25 million of that salary. Stripling returned to the American League after spending 2 1/2 seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays from 2020 to 2022, posting a 3.94 ERA in 251 1/3 innings pitched, mostly as a starter.
Stripling will likely join a broader Athletics rotation that is also expected to include former Giants teammate Alex Wood, who signed a one-year free agent contract with the Athletics on Friday. Wood's contract is for $8.5 million plus a $1 million performance bonus, league officials confirmed. The left-handed Wood posted a 4.33 ERA in 97 2/3 innings for the Giants last season.
Where the Giants Stand Now
The Stripling trade, along with last month's deal that sent Mitch Haniger to Seattle, continues the Giants' underwhelming offseason dismantling through 2023. But at least Stripling provided a veteran option behind ace Logan Webb in a rotation rich with talent. I have little experience.
So the immediate question facing Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi is how he plans to reinvest the $9.25 million he saved in the Stripling trade. In other words, which of Scott Boras' clients is at the top of the list right now? They've been known to use third baseman Matt Chapman all winter. DH JD Martinez would also reinforce the need for a right-handed pitcher. But could the Stripling deal signal a greater desire to make a big bet on left-hander Blake Snell and partner Webb at the top of the rotation? That would put the Giants in the top two in National League Cy Young Award voting last season.
After subtracting Stripling, the top candidates to complete the Giants' rotation behind Webb and Jordan Hicks (returning from relief in St. Louis) include left-hander Kyle Harrison, right-hander Keaton Wynn and right-hander Tristan. It will be. Beck and possibly left-handed Carson Whisenhunt. — Andrew Bagley, Giants Senior Writer
Where is the rotation of A?
The Army's rotation ERA in 2023 was 5.74, with only the Colorado Rockies leading in waste. The fact that the Rockies play at sea level and the Athletics play their home games at the pitcher-friendly Oakland Coliseum is further evidence of how the Athletics rotation struggled last season. JP Sears and Ken Woldychuk were the only pitchers with the Athletics to pitch more than 140 innings last season, and Woldychuk is rehabbing a left flexor tendon and UCL sprain this offseason and will not participate in spring training. is in jeopardy.
Fireball rookie Mason Miller will move to the bullpen to stay healthy after two injury-plagued seasons, while veteran Paul Blackburn will return from a season limited to 103 innings due to injury. Inexperienced starting pitchers Luis Medina, Joe Boyle, Hogan Harris, Kyle Muller, and Rule 5 pick Mitch Spence were other pitchers in the rotation.
The Athletics' bullpen is similarly shaky and inexperienced. Stripling and Wood will likely be starting pitchers for the Athletics, but their experience in hybrid roles throughout their careers gives the team much-needed veteran options in both the rotation and bullpen. It will help prevent young pitchers from being overworked. It will be another year of rebuilding. —Melissa Lockard, MLB Senior Editor
Effect of strip ring on A
The Giants signed Stripling after the 2022 season for several reasons. The first is that he's used to moving from the rotation to long relief and back again, an attribute the Giants value. He has been both a starter and a reliever in every season of his major league career. The second reason is that he was coming off a great season with a 3.01 ERA and five strikeouts per walk. The key to this success was the home run rate allowed. His record was 0.8 HR/9, which was pretty close to what he did from 2016 to 2019. His 2021 season was the only non-pandemic season with an abnormally high home run count. run rate, and his 2022 looked like a good kind of regression.
But his 2023 season was terrible. He had the highest home run percentage of any Giants pitcher who started at least 10 games during his time at Oracle Park, but oddly enough he's not particularly prone to fly balls. His ground ball percentage of 44 percent is better than the league average of 42.5 percent.Stripling's problem is that he did If you allow a fly ball, it has a 20% chance of going over the fence, one of the highest rates since this statistic became readily available in 2005. Most of the pitchers who did worse than this were at the end of their careers and pitching correctly. Out of league.
However, there is one exception to that list. That person is Yusei Kikuchi, a former Blue Jays teammate. He suffered from acute dactylitis in 2022, but returned in 2023 and had a great season. His condition was managed, not cured, but he no longer allowed a home run for every five fly balls he hit. Outlier rates are advancing, if only because it is difficult to maintain such conditions. No matter how bad a pitcher is, it's difficult to maintain a 20% HR/FB ratio. Going from a historically abysmal record to below average while allowing just a home run was enough for Kikuchi to contribute to a team in the postseason.
Also of note: Stripling was recently interviewed by a Houston news station about his offseason work and highlighted the new slider he's been working on.
#Giants RHP Ross Stripling is working on a new pitch for 2024: the death ball, a gyro slider that drops late.
Live today, he looked really filthy as he was training north of Houston.
Stripling told me he was looking for more swings and misses. pic.twitter.com/spsKEkWsfN
— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) January 27, 2024
I know the offseason cliché associates “learning a new pitch” with “being in the best shape of your life,” but this is definitely the era of the One Weird Trick, and the one The development and refinement of pitching can change a person's life by 30 degrees. A one-year-old boy became a millionaire almost overnight. Stripling's biggest issue could be improved with just random changes, but keep an eye out for his new/changing slider. — Grant Brisby, Giants staff writer
Who is Jonah Cox?
Cox, an outfielder who was drafted by Oral Roberts in the sixth round by the Athletics last season, could be transferred from the Athletics to the Giants in the Stripling deal. Cox, the son of a former MLB catcher, is known for his intense playing style and above-average base running. Last season, in 35 games between the rookie-level Arizona Complex League and the Low-A California League, Cox had 20 base hits in 22 chances. He hit .287/.366/.403, but his K:BB ratio was an ugly 41:9. However, his lack of discipline at the plate did not match his college performance and may have been more a product of fatigue at the end of a long season.
He is a solid defender and can drop a lot of balls into the center field gap. Cox doesn't have much power or profile for a top-tier bat. — Locard
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(Stripling top photo: Darren Yamashita/USA Today)
