Report: SF Giants veteran pitcher exercises player option for 2024 season

As expected, SF Giants veteran right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling will be exercising the player option in his contract for next season, per a report by KNBR.

Marc Delucchi | Nov 3, 2023

Report: SF Giants veteran pitcher exercises player option for 2024 season /

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San Francisco Giants

One option decision hanging over the SF Giants this offseason has been finalized. As expected, right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling is exercising the player option in his contract for the 2024 season, according to a report by Danny Emerman of KNBR. Stripling joined the Giants on a two-year, $25 million deal last offseason, but struggled mightily in 2023. Stripling had mentioned that he did not think he had pitched well enough to opt out in September, but had not made anything official.

Stripling was plagued by a back injury throughout the 2023 season, something he cited as a culprit for some of his on-field struggles. Despite starting the season in the rotation, Stripling was quickly relegated to a long relief role and bounced between those two roles for the remainder of the year. Stripling did flash some consistency in the late summer, but still finished the season with 70 strikeouts, 16 walks, 20 home runs allowed, and a 5.36 ERA in 89 innings pitched (22 appearances).

Entering his age-34 season, Stripling will hope that he can get back to his previous form this offseason and potentially emerge as a stabilizing force in San Francisco's starting rotation. While ace Logan Webb is cemented atop the Giants rotation moving forward, 2023 All-Star Alex Cobb will likely miss the start of next season after undergoing offseason hip surgery. Webb and Cobb were the Giants only consistent starting pitchers in 2023, leaving plenty of opportunities for Stripling to work his way back into the mix.

Prior to joining the SF Giants, Ross Stripling had spent the rest of his career between the Dodgers and Blue Jays. Despite receiving an All-Star selection in 2018, Stripling has never been considered an elite big-league pitcher. However, he has flashed excellent versatility and been effective as a traditional starter, swingman, and long reliever.

Published Nov 3, 2023

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).