Kansas City Royals just signed another Blue Jays pitcher

A fifth round draft pick in 2012, Stripling made his debut with the Los Angeles in 2016 and spent the next 4.5 seasons in Hollywood.

A mid-season brought him to Toronto where he quickly became a valuable member of the Blue Jays pitching staff.

He has filled all kinds of roles in his career, both with the Blue Jays, and elsewhere.

He has 248 career appearances under his belt and a little over half of them have been starts. He has been the long man/hybrid reliever for much of his career as well and even has four saves, including one he picked up with the Blue Jays in 2022.

Things haven't gone as smoothly for Stripling since leaving Canada.

After signing a two-year deal with the San Francisco Giants, Stripling went 0-5 with a 5.36 ERA in 2023. He was then traded to Oakland and didn't fare much better. Last season saw him go 2-11 with an ERA above six.

Part of this was luck as his.338 batting average on balls in play and 54.8% strand rate were both on the unlucky side last year.

Kansas City's rotation will be anchored by Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, and Michael Wacha. Michael Lorenzen feels like a good bet to slot in at number four or five.

Stripling has a shot at the fifth starter spot, where he'll face competition from Kris Bubic and Kyle Wright, both of whom are returning from significant injuries. He could also land a spot in the Royals bullpen.

For his career Stripling is 40-54 with a 4.17 ERA.