October 10th, 2022 at 12:30 pm 
by Ron Cervenka Let’s be brutally honest here. When the Dodgers traded extremely popular right-hander Ross Stripling to the Toronto Blue Jays on August 31, 2020 for two ‘PTBNL’ (player(s) to be named later – which ended up being 22-year-old Minor League right-hander Kendall Williams and 26-year-old Minor League utility infielder/outfielder Ryan Noda) – it absolutely broke the hearts of everyone even remotely familiar with the (now) 32-year-old Bluebell, PA native and Dodgers fifth-round draft pick in 2012 out of Texas A&M. We’re talking serious broken hearts here.
In his seven seasons down on the Dodgers farm, ‘Chicken Strip’ (as he is affectionately known) posted a 14-14 record with an excellent 2.79 ERA; good enough to (finally) earn him a call-up to The Show on April 8, 2016.
In his five seasons with the Dodgers, Stripling posted a 23-25 record with a respectable 3.68 ERA in 143 appearances, of which 59 were starts. He also, as noted, became a huge favorite among Dodgers fans for his warm, outgoing (but not overbearing) interactions with them.
Those hearts were broken when Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman traded Chicken Strip away for basically nothing in return (no disrespect intended).
It gets worse … at least for brokenhearted Dodgers fans.
In his three seasons with the Blue Jays, Stripling owns a 15-13 record with a 3.94 ERA, not over-the-top numbers, but certainly solid numbers.
Well, guess who became a free agent this past Saturday when the Blue Jays were eliminated from postseason play by the Cleveland Guardians?
(MLB Trade Rumors)
Yep, Chicken Strip is officially on the market, and Toronto may elect not to re-sign him.
This from Jacob Smith at MLB Trade Rumors:
“As the Mariners head to Houston to take on their division rivals in the ALDS, the Blue Jays head into the offseason with a decent idea of what their roster will look like in 2023. Toronto’s current active roster only contains four players, Anthony Bass, David Phelps, Ross Stripling, and Jackie Bradley Jr., who will be free agents this offseason. Since Bradley Jr.’s .524 OPS with the Blue Jays will probably not warrant another opportunity in Toronto, Ross Stripling is the free agent that will receive the majority of the front office’s attention.”
You don’t suppose that the Andrew Friedman might consider giving the popular right-hander “A Second Change to Make a First Impression,” as the great Will Rodgers once coined, do you?
Play Ball!
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Posted in 
Sorry Ron, my heart was not broken when the Dodgers traded Stripling and no, I don’t want to see him back as a Dodger. Dodgers have better pitchers then Stripling and there is no need for him.
With the dearth of MLB pitching, I think Stripling will have many teams talking with his agent, but not the Dodgers. With Julio Urias, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, and likely Clayton Kershaw there is only one spot open on the starting rotation with veteran Danny Duffy, Ryan Pepiot, Andre Jackson, and top pitching prospect Bobby Miller vying for the spot. And Walker Buehler should be ready to rejoin the starting rotation in the 2024 season along with Gavin Stone. Even if Kershaw decides to retire after the Dodgers win the 2023 World Series, the team could re-sign Andrew Heaney or Tyler Anderson. I think Stripling might return to his high school and college roots, joining Corey Seager in Texas. Another team that makes sense for Stripling is the Angels, a team with plenty of offense, but short on pitching.