Former Blue Jays pitcher Stripling strikes 2-year deal with Giants

Ross Stripling made quite the memorable major league debut in San Francisco a while back with the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

Manager Dave Roberts pulled him with a no-hitter going in the eighth inning and called the decision a "no-brainer" afterward.

The 33-year-old Stripling figures to soon be pitching many more innings in that waterfront ballpark.

Stripling reached agreement on a $25 million US, two-year contract with the Giants on Tuesday. The free agent right-hander still calls that outing on April 8, 2016, of the most unique days of his baseball life.

"Man, it never gets old. That was seven years ago now, which is crazy, just how special that was. I think about it all the time," he recalled. "Still get asked about it all the time, `Do you think you could have finished it?' Or `Are you still made at Dave Roberts?' All this kind of stuff, which I'm not."

"It was just like a perfect combination of some of the craziest things that have ever happened. Just a crazy game and an awesome debut and will go down as a top-3, -4, -5 memory for me in my career, he said.

Stripling, who went 10-4 for Toronto last season, is now eager to be part of a San Francisco rotation featuring Logan Webb, newcomer Sean Manaea, Alex Cobb and Alex Wood. Giants President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi has told Stripling that's the plan.

"I expect to start. I had a good year as a starter. I feel like the couple times I've gotten a runway as a starter in the big leagues where I kind of knew my position in the rotation as a starter was safe is when I've done the best," Stripling said in a video call. "I made an All-Star game in 2018 with the Dodgers and then this year with Toronto and I knew they basically didn't have anyone and they gave me some runway and I was able to do well."

Stripling's contract includes a $5 million signing bonus and allows him to opt out after next season, when he will earn $7.5 million. He has a $12.5 million salary for 2024.

Stripling considers his unpredictability as a strength because even an opponent's third time through the batting order shouldn't make it easy to figure him out. He made big strides with his changeup this year, utilizing the pitch far more regularly against right-handed hitters.

"Kind of kitchen sink from pitch one where I keep hitters off balance by throwing anything in any count," he said.

Stripling had Giants manager Gabe Kapler as his minor league coordinator with the Dodgers, San Francisco outfielder Joc Pederson as a roommate in the Los Angeles farm system and Zaidi as general manager.

Last season, Stripling set career highs of 10 wins, a 3.01 ERA, 24 starts and 134 1/3 innings with the Blue Jays. He went 9-4 with a 2.92 ERA as a starter and also 1-0 with a 4.09 ERA in eight relief outings.

Stripling's deal also calls for an annual donation of $62,500 to the Giants Community Fund.

Right-hander Miguel Yajure cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Sacramento, clearing room on the 40-man roster for Stripling.

Manoah receives top bonus from new $50M pool

Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease will receive the largest amount in the new $50 million US pool for pre-arbitration players, earning $2,457,426.

Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez is second with $2,381,143, according to figures compiled by Major League Baseball and the players' association under the March lockout settlement. Toronto right-hander Alek Manoah is third at $2,191,023.

Eleven players are receiving $1 million or more.

A total of 100 players will receive the payments under a plan aimed to get more money to players without enough service time for salary arbitration eligibility: two years, 116 days of major league service for 2022.

At $706,200, Manoah had a major league minimum salary this past season.

Under the March agreement, an eligible player receives $2.5 million for winning a MVP or Cy Young Award, $1.75 million for second in the voting, $1.5 million for third, $1 million for fourth, fifth or selection to the all-MLB first team, $750,000 for rookie of the year, $500,000 for second in rookie of the year voting or all-MLB second team.

All-MLB teams are voted by fans, media members, broadcasters, former players and officials.

A player is eligible to receive the bonus for one achievement per year, earning only the highest amount.

Cease was second in AL Cy Young voting, Alvarez third in AL MVP voting, Manoah was third in AL Cy Young balloting behind Justin Verlander and Dylan Cease.

Yankees finalizing Rodon offer: report

The Yankees are close to making an offer to star left-hander Carlos Rodon, the New York Post reported.

The 30-year-old free agent opted out of his $22.5 million US contract with the San Francisco Giants for next season and reportedly is seeking a deal in the neighbourhood of seven seasons and $200-plus million.

The two-time all-star has also received interest from the Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and several other teams.

Rodon finished 14-8 with a 2.88 ERA in 31 starts last season, striking out 237 batters in 178 innings.

He pitched his first seven seasons with the Chicago White Sox and is 56-46 in 152 career outings (147 starts) with a 3.60 ERA in 847 1/3 innings.