Right-hander Ross Stripling has chosen to exercise his $12.5MM player option for the upcoming season, according to a tweet by Danny Emerman of KNBR.com. Instead of testing the open market, Stripling, who turns 34 this month, will be returning to the Giants for the 2024 season. This decision doesn’t come as a surprise since Stripling himself had previously announced his intention to exercise the option back in September.
Stripling had a difficult time in San Francisco this year after signing a two-year, $25MM contract with the Giants in the previous offseason. Despite performing well in Toronto prior to joining the Giants, Stripling struggled during the 2023 season. He only pitched 89 innings in 22 appearances, 11 of which were starts. This marked his lowest total in a season since 2017. Not only did his strikeout rate drop from 20.7% in 2022 to 18.4% this year, but his walk rate also increased from 3.7% to 4.2%.
While these rates were not promising, the bigger issue for Stripling in 2023 was his significant problem with home runs. Despite playing in Oracle Park, where only Comerica Park in Detroit and PNC Park in San Francisco suppressed home runs more effectively, Stripling allowed a staggering 22% of his fly balls to leave the yard. This was a career high for a full season and was the second-highest rate in the league, only surpassed by Christopher Sanchez of the Phillies with a 22.2% rate. Stripling ended the season with a disappointing 5.36 ERA and 5.21 FIP, both being the worst figures of his career over a full season.
However, there are reasons to be optimistic about Stripling’s performance in the upcoming season. He missed two months of the 2023 season due to back issues, which suggests that he may not have been fully healthy for a significant portion of the year. If he can regain better health and reduce the number of home runs allowed, Stripling has the potential to significantly improve his effectiveness next year. Despite his struggles, advanced metrics such as his 3.98 xFIP (9% better than the league average) and 4.13 SIERA showed some positivity for Stripling this season.
The Giants are still awaiting decisions from left-hander Sean Manaea and outfielder Michael Conforto, both of whom have the option to test free agency instead of playing out the final year of their two-year contracts with the team. In addition, the Giants need to decide on the option for veteran right-hander Alex Cobb. Manaea and Conforto are reportedly undecided about their future, while Cobb’s option could be complicated by a recent hip surgery that will likely keep him out of action until Opening Day 2024.
