It was always suspicious when former San Francisco Giants team president Farhan Zaidi brought in a player from his past (and now current) employer, the Los Angeles Dodgers. But after helping torpedo the Giants’ 2023 season, and pitching even worse for the Oakland Athletics last year, Ross Stripling announced his retirement from baseball.

Stripling signed a two-year, $25M deal with the Giants before the 2023 season, a classic Zaidi contract with a player option for the second year. He proceeded to go 0-5 with a 5.36 ERA, giving up 20 home runs in 89 innings, splitting his time as a starter and a reliever. After the season, Stripling (of course) picked up his $12.5M option for 2024, and the Giants responded by sending him to the then-Oakland Athletics along with $3.25M in cash. Stripling went 2-11 for the A’s with a 6.01 ERA, then had a disappointing tryout with the Kansas City Royals before deciding to call it a career.

The 2018 All-Star was just one of a number of former Dodgers that Zaidi brought in for the Giants during his tenure. Joc Pederson, Jake McGee, Scott Alexander, and Alex Wood all came north to San Francisco, while Pederson, Stripling, and Alexander were on-field and financial disasters in 2023.

There’s no hard evidence that Zaidi was actively working against the Giants, though it was highly suspicious that he had a job waiting for him with the Dodgers, who also signed Giants pitcher Blake Snell as a free agent. And that the Giants lost out on a number of free agents to the Dodgers while Zaidi was in charge. And we’re pretty sure the concept of relying on relief pitchers an openers was a strategy that Andrew Friedman convinced Zaidi to do as an elaborate prank.

Stripling finished his career with a 40-54 record, a 4.17 ERA, one All-Star appearance, and a World Series ring from 2020, a season where he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in late August. He wasn’t a memorable Giant, but he wasn’t on a memorable team. But for a guy without much of a fastball, Stripling did carve out a nine-year career. While we can’t endorse his decision to be part of Zaidi’s long-term sabotage effort, it’s hard to fault Stripling for turning down the big contract, and whatever secret bribes he also received. Enjoy retirement, Chicken Strip!