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.

The save was Stratton’s third of the season. He isn’t a threat to James McArthur, the Royals’ regular closer. Stratton just happened to enter the game with an 8-3 lead and the bases loaded in the eighth inning. Technically it was a save opportunity because the tying run was in the on-deck circle. Don’t expect Stratton to be an option for many more saves over the course of the rest of the season.