Wood, Stripling to anchor rotation
Teammates last year with the San Francisco Giants and for several years in Los Angeles, Ross Stripling and Alex Wood have reunited again in an unexpected spot, as veterans on a decidedly inexperienced Oakland A’s team.
“I think Woody and I are just fated to be together at this point,” Stripling said by phone Wednesday, five days after going to Oakland in a trade that sent minor-league outfielder Jonah Cox to San Francisco. The A’s also received $3.25 million to help offset Stripling’s $12.5 million salary this season.
Wood and Stripling were projected to be in the Giants’ rotation last year, but neither gained a foothold as a regular starter and neither was entirely comfortable bouncing back and forth between the bullpen and an occasional start or coming in after an opener.
With the A’s, that is not expected to be a problem. Stripling, 34, and Wood, 33, have a combined 18 years of big-league service, almost as much as the rest of the projected pitching staff combined. Stripling is the team’s oldest player and Wood is third behind infielder Aledmys Diaz, and general manager David Forst said Friday that both pitchers are viewed as starters.
“He was very up front,” Wood said of his freeagent talks with Forst, which began early in the offseason. “He said, ‘Hey, we think we can give you a really good opportunity to start every day, no questions asked, go out there.’
“To have that chance to solidify what I’ve done my whole career after doing both — going back and forth — this past year, it was important enough for this year and for my future, too. I think I can still be a pretty good starter in this league. That was definitely a big thing for me, re-solidifying starting once every five days.”
Wood didn’t knock the Giants for his erratic usage, even though he chafed at times.
“It was tough from a lot of different angles, but when you look at the bare bones of it, I have no one to blame but myself for what ended up happening,” Wood said. “I’m super grateful for my time with the Giants, we had an unbelievable three years. I wish we would have made the playoffs this past year, but we just missed out and that was disappointing, but I loved my time in San Francisco and there was a really great group of guys there. The way we did things was how they thought we had the best chance to win, so I can’t have any hard feelings about that.”
Stripling said the trade last week came as a surprise; he’d been in weekly contact with new pitching coach Bryan Price and assistant pitching coach J.P. Martinez, and Stripling knows the Giants will open the season with starters Alex Cobb (hip) and Robbie Ray (Tommy John surgery) on the injured list.
“It felt a little unexpected,” Stripling said. “Spring training is close and arms are needed. But on the flip side, it’s an awesome opportunity — I’ve always asked for an opportunity to throw every fifth day, and this sounds like the best chance to do that that I’ve gotten.”
There are other pluses, too, along with being in the same rotation with Wood, who’s such a close friend he was in Stripling’s wedding. Stripling and his wife, Shelby, already had committed to the same house in Lafayette for the upcoming season, and now they don’t have to navigate a hasty move or break a lease or suddenly head to Florida for camp. Spring training remains in Arizona.
Stripling knows zero A’s players besides Wood (“On Day 1, I’ll make 50 new friends,” he said), and he relishes the idea of helping lead a young pitching staff, recalling the many veterans he looked up to helping him out, including Clayton Kershaw.
“Alex and I will be by far the most experienced pitchers, so I think that’s a really exciting new role,” he said. “I’m going to try and dive headfirst in and take advantage of it and see if I can help some of these guys along.”
Wood thinks he’ll move over to the East Bay, too, after three years in San Francisco, and he also likes the thought of helping young pitchers.
“That’s something I take a lot of pride in,” he said. “I’ve tried to do that everywhere I’ve gone. I want to see everyone around me have as much success as possible, so I’m really going to embrace that role.”
Neither pitcher is signed beyond this season, so the uncertainty about where the team will play next year, after the A’s Coliseum lease expires, doesn’t necessarily impact them. Stripling can offer some advice there, too: He was with Toronto when the team played in Buffalo and Dunedin, Fla., during Canada’s pandemic travel ban.
“I have a history of doing something similar after two years in Buffalo,” Stripling said. “It’s hard for young players when you’re trying to keep your head above water and you have to battle with stuff that no other team has to and answer questions about it.
“It will be interesting to be a part of it, and I’m sure it’ll be the narrative of most of the season. I saw the mayor of Las Vegas said some things and then renege on them a little bit — even she is trying to figure out the right things to say. But any time a fan base is about to lose their third team, that’s just heartbreaking for them.”