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“It came down to Toronto or San Francisco.”

Ross Stripling had several teams courting him as he became a free agent for the first time, but he ultimately whittled down his choices to the team he had spent the last two-and-a-half seasons with, the Blue Jays, and the team that he wound up signing with, the Giants.

“There was a little bit of saying like, ‘Look, Strip, you’ve never thrown over 130 innings. We can’t necessarily justify paying you (like) a guy who has thrown 180 innings for the last couple of years.’ And I totally get it.”

But then a deal went down in Texas.

“(Andrew) Heaney signs with the Rangers and gets (an) opt-out (clause) after the first year,” Stripling said. “That kind of opened the door to asking for it and thinking it’s available. He’s in a similar situation to me … coming off a really good year but didn’t throw a ton of innings but showed flashes of great stuff.”

The ability to opt out of a contract after one season puts all the power in the hands of the player. A strong year sends him back into free agency in a much better position. A down year means he makes far more than would otherwise be available in free agency.

“I like to word it as you’re putting pressure on the Giants to maybe extend you or to (issue a qualifying offer),” said Stripling, diplomatically. “It just gives you the power … and the Giants probably love it because I’m in a ‘prove it’ year. Things usually go well for guys who are in ‘prove it’ years, and they might get the best out of me and they still have me there and can negotiate with me before other teams.”

The opt-out clause, it turns out, made the difference in deciding where Stripling would land.

“It was just a no-brainer, when it came down to it,” he said. “Other teams were taking away from the (dollars in their) offer if (an opt-out) was to be included and the Giants kept their offer the same.”

Reading between the lines, it’s easy to conclude that the Jays weren’t willing to offer Stripling the same money if they included an opt-out in the deal.

But there are no hard feelings.

SharoneWright wrote:No health issue with Carlos. Obvious smokescreen.

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Fairview4Life wrote:Seems like something teams don’t just make up though.

Schad wrote:Took a brief glance at the 2023 Draft, and two things stand out:

- Homer Bush Jr is draft-eligible and a top 100 prospect. Gotta take him.

- There is a kid named LuJames Groover III who is also ranked in the top 100. That is a once-in-a-generation name. Quite literally, given that it's been given three times to three generations.

Lateral Quicks wrote:

Schad wrote:Took a brief glance at the 2023 Draft, and two things stand out:

- Homer Bush Jr is draft-eligible and a top 100 prospect. Gotta take him.

- There is a kid named LuJames Groover III who is also ranked in the top 100. That is a once-in-a-generation name. Quite literally, given that it's been given three times to three generations.

Ahh yes, Homer Bush. The Jay who hit .320 one year, .215 the next, .308 the next, and then was basically was out of the league a year later. The definition of inconsistency. But I enjoyed watching him hit well those two good years.

Lateral Quicks wrote:

Schad wrote:Took a brief glance at the 2023 Draft, and two things stand out:

- Homer Bush Jr is draft-eligible and a top 100 prospect. Gotta take him.

- There is a kid named LuJames Groover III who is also ranked in the top 100. That is a once-in-a-generation name. Quite literally, given that it's been given three times to three generations.

Ahh yes, Homer Bush. The Jay who hit .320 one year, .215 the next, .308 the next, and then was basically was out of the league a year later. The definition of inconsistency. But I enjoyed watching him hit well those two good years.

polo007 wrote:

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Parataxis wrote:

polo007 wrote:

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That $221,000 tax bill also locks the Padres out of CBT payments from the taxpaying teams, right? Which would be what, another $5mil hit to their bottom line, give or take?