Chris

Stratton

Stratton was jettisoned from Los Angeles’ relief mix over the weekend and will head out to test the free agent waters after passing through waivers unclaimed. The 34-year-old veteran reliever made three relief appearances for the Dodgers during a couple brief stints with the club since late May.

That didn’t take long. Stratton’s latest stint with the Dodgers lasted less than 24 hours. The 34-year-old righty has been booted from Los Angeles’ bullpen mix to make room for Michael Kopech and Kirby Yates to return from the injured list. He’s made three relief appearances for the club in a pair of stints since May 31.

The 34-year-old hurler had been designated for assignment on Monday, sent outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City and elected free agency, only to come full circle and sign back with the Dodgers on another one-year pact. He’ll continue to work in a middle relief role. Stratton holds a 6.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and a 5/2 K/BB ratio over three innings with the Dodgers this season.

Stratton’s time with the Dodgers appears to be over after allowing two runs over three innings across a pair of relief appearances. The 34-year-old journeyman signed with Los Angeles back in late May shortly after being released by the Royals.

No word yet on the financials of the deal, but Stratton is with the team in New York and will be available for Sunday night’s battle against the Mets. Stratton was released by the Royals on Thursday after struggling to a 7.94 ERA, 2.18 WHIP and a 16/8 K/BB ratio over 17 innings in 12 appearances at the big league level. He’ll function in a middle relief role for the Dodgers.

The 34-year-old hurler had been designated for assignment over the weekend and passed through waivers unclaimed. He struggled to a 7.94 ERA over 17 innings in 12 appearances with the Royals this season. He’s now free to explore other opportunities on the open market if he so chooses.

Stratton has been removed from Kansas City’s bullpen mix after struggling to an inflated 7.94 ERA across 17 innings (12 appearances). the 34-year-old veteran figures to pass through waivers unclaimed and will likely wind up electing free agency to search for a new opportunity.

Stratton will make $4.5 million in 2025. He’s thrown 141 innings out of the bullpen in the last two years and finished 2024 on the injured list. Stratton was unable to make it back to pitch for the Royals in the playoffs. He also had a 5.55 ERA in 2024. Given all of those factors, it likely wasn’t a very difficult decision for Stratton to exercise his player option with Kansas City.

Stratton’s had an uneven year with the Royals after being a member of the 2023 World Series Champion Texas Rangers last year. He has a 5.55 ERA this year. Still, Stratton has been a workhorse out of the bullpen totaling 82 2/3 innings in 2023 and 58 1/3 this year. It’s concerning that he’s going on the injured list this late in the year with a flexor strain. It’s unclear if Stratton will pitch again this season and flexor strains can sometimes be a precursor to Tommy John surgery.

Stratton’s save was his fourth of the year. James McArthur is still in the late inning mix for the Royals, but he entered in the seventh inning of a tie game. McArthur has only one save this month, but has finished four games.