Royals sign pitchers Chris Stratton and Seth Lugo

The Kansas City Royals came to terms with right handed pitchers Chris Stratton of Tupelo, Mississippi and Seth Lugo of Shreveport, Louisiana according to NBC Sports on Tuesday. Stratton is a reliever and Lugo is a starting pitcher. Lugo’s terms are three years and $45 million, while Stratton’s terms are one year and $3.5 million. There is also a one-year player option in the Stratton deal in 2025 worth $4.5 million. Lugo and Stratton are joined by Will Smith of Newnan, Georgia as newcomers on the Royals pitching staff.

Lugo is joining his third Major League Baseball team. He previously played seven seasons with the New York Mets from 2016 to 2022, and one season with the San Diego Padres in 2023. Stratton is joining his sixth Major League Baseball team. He previously played for the San Francisco Giants (2016 to 2018), the Los Angeles Angels (2019), the Pittsburgh Pirates (2020 to 2022), the St. Louis Cardinals (2022 to 2023), and the Texas Rangers (2023). Stratton was part of the Rangers team that won the 2023 World Series.

Seth Lugo in 2023

Lugo pitched 26 games for the Padres in 2023. He had a record of eight wins and seven losses with an earned run average of 3.57. During 146 1/3 innings pitched, Lugo gave up 140 hits, 58 earned runs, 19 home runs and 36 walks, to go along with 140 strikeouts and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.20. Four times Lugo gave up zero earned runs in six innings. Those outstanding quality starts came in a 7-5 Padres loss to the Cincinnati Reds on June 30, in a 4-0 Padres win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 18, in a 4-0 Padres win over the Miami Marlins on August 23, and in a 4-0 Padres win over the San Francisco Giants on September 3.

Chris Stratton in 2023

In 64 games with the Cardinals and Rangers in 2023, Stratton had a record of two wins and one loss with an earned run average of 3.92. In 82 2/3 innings pitched, he had one save, eight holds, and gave up 69 hits, 36 earned runs, eight home runs, and 25 walks, and had 81 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.14. Stratton’s wins came in a 6-4 Cardinals win over the Chicago Cubs on May 9 and in a 2-1 Rangers win over the New York Mets on August 29. Stratton’s save came in a 6-4 Cardinals win over the Miami Marlins on July 19.

In the 2023 postseason, Stratton pitched four innings in four games. He gave up four hits and four earned runs to go along with three strikeouts and two walks.