The Kansas City Royals have signed right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling to a minor league contract, the team announced via social media on Wednesday. Stripling, who last pitched with the Athletics in 2024, has also received an invitation to Spring Training. Stripling was a fifth-round selection by the Dodgers in the 2012 Amateur Draft and has pitched now in parts of nine Major League seasons. Entering his age-35 season in 2025, Stripling is coming off a season that saw him struggle to a 6.01 ERA across 85.1 innings of work.

It was the worst showing of his career, but better days aren’t that far in the rearview mirror for Stripling. He was an All-Star in 2018 with the Dodgers but his most valuable season came in 2022. Then with the Blue Jays, Stripling compiled 3.0 fWAR, pitching to a 3.11 FIP across 134.1 innings of work. He’s struggled to notch strikeouts in the back half of his career, but command remains a strength for the journeyman veteran.

The Royals will see what remains in the tank this Spring. The pitch mix is a strength for Stripling, relying on six pitches and extremely low hard-it rates. He finished 2024 with a 35.3% hard-hit rate — good for the 78th percentile according to Baseball Savant.

The pitch mix could be a great weapon for Brian Sweeney and Co. The group has shown an ability to get the most out of Seth Lugo’s masterful arsenal while also expanding on the pitch mix for starters Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic. Despite the wide-ranging arsenal, Stripling struggled to pitch effectively in 2024. Opposing hitters posted a batting average north of .300 against all of his pitches except his four-seam fastball and cutter. His slider offers plenty of promise if he can get back on track. 2024 saw Stripling post an average spin rate of 2347 rpm with the slider with a 15.7% whiff rate. The entire arsenal is intriguing, but it’s yet to be seen whether Sweeney and the Royals can squeeze enough out of Stripling’s arm to net him a spot on the Opening Day roster.

If Stripling hopes to make the roster, he joins an extremely crowded group vying for limited space on the team’s 26-man roster. The team’s pitching depth is outstanding and Stripling just adds to that. With the rotation’s front four set, Stripling has an outside chance to push Kris Bubic and Alec Marsh for the fifth spot in the team’s rotation. If he’s unable to make that happen, there’s still a chance he could land as bullpen depth. Even there, however, Stripling will find himself competing for limited space alongside names like Carlos Hernández, Chris Stratton, and Daniel Lynch IV. Depending on the details of his minor league contract, Stripling could very well end up on Omaha as a “break-glass” type of arm, just furthering the team’s great pitching depth.