The Dodgers announced that they have acquired right-hander Will Klein from the Mariners in exchange for minor league lefty Joe Jacques, a move that was previously reported. They have also recalled righty Ryan Loutos. In corresponding moves, right-hander Noah Davis has been optioned to the minors and righty Chris Stratton has been designated for assignment.
Stratton, 34, was just signed about a week ago after being released by the Royals. He tossed three innings for the Dodgers over two appearances, allowing two earned runs and two walks and two hits while striking out five.
The veteran parlayed a solid 2023 season into a surprising two-year, $8MM deal with Kansas City going into 2024. But since signing that pact, he hasn’t been especially effective. He has thrown 78 1/3 innings dating back to the start of last season with a 6.09 earned run average. His 46.1% ground ball rate in that time is strong but his 18.2% strikeout rate and 12% walk rate are both a few ticks worse than average.
Since the Royals released Stratton, they remain on the hook for what’s left of his salary. Any other club can sign Stratton and only pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, as the Dodgers just did. That amount was subtracted from what the Royals paid.
The Dodgers were happy to grab a fresh veteran arm for a few days, but since they had no commitment to him, they have quickly jettisoned him for more fresh arms. He is likely to wind up on the open market again in the coming days and will see if another team is looking for bullpen reinforcements. He had a strong run of results from 2020 to 2023. In the last of those years, he tossed 82 2/3 innings with a 3.92 ERA, 24% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate.
Photo courtesy of William Purnell, Imagn Images
So they DFA a pitcher with almost a career 8 ERA for a pitcher with over a career 11 ERA..
Reading carefully is an important life skill.
Read Stratton’s career stats again
His career era is 4.63
Can’t believe the cards just gave up on loutos. His minors numbers have been good
I knew Chris Stratton would not have a chance after the dodgers picked him up for chump change meaning nothing. They realized why the DFA came from the royals
They have a couple players ready for a promotion in AAA – Ryan Ward has mashed all season and Estuery Ruiz is a great player for their roster.
An ultimate Dodgers collectable: a Chris Stratton game-worn jersey (number 43a).
Trademark Dodgers pump and dump. Eat innings for a game or two, dfa, if he clears, great, if not, repeat with someone else. Not a bad idea if your team is good enough to deal with trotting out guys like this.
Do you know what pump and dump means?
The Wolf of Wall Street has entered the chat.
And I am not #%&$#!@ leaving!
I assumed the Dodgers pitching coaches would work with Stratton and get him back on track, but kind of hard to straighten him out in a week.
He is lucky to escape LAD without a TJ added
Seriously, the fact that his arm is still intact is a plus….
Whoever needs a fresh arm for a depleted bullpen, Stratton is your guy.
Atlanta. Play musical lockers with Jesse.