It was pretty much a given that the Jays and Ross Stripling had a mutual interest in the pitcher returning.

Although he ended up signing a two-year contract with the San Francisco Giants, his decision was between the Giants and the Toronto Blue Jays.  
According to this article from The Star by Mike Wilner, there were a few reasons why he chose San Francisco. The biggest reason was that the Giants were willing to give him an opt-out after one year, which gives the player a ton of leverage.
The other reason was that a day prior to Stripling signing with the Giants, the Jays signed free agent Chris Bassitt to a three-year, $63 million deal. Despite getting their #3 in the rotation, the Jays still had an interest in re-signing Stripling.
In my opinion, this very well could mean that the Jays aren’t done with looking to improve their rotation. Adding a fifth starter such as Johnny Cueto (who they’ve been linked to) or Corey Klueber.
However, let’s look at Ross Stripling’s career as a Blue Jay:
A Ross Stripling retrospect:
The Jays traded for Ross Stripling on August 31st, 2020 at the plague year deadline. They sent then Top 30 prospects Kendall Williams and Ryan Noda (who was recently selected in the Rule 5 draft) to acquire the swingman. Let’s look at his season-by-season numbers with the Jays.
2020:
In the short time after the trade, Stripling posted a 6.32 ERA and 3.70 FIP in 15.2 innings pitched. His K …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation