Cardinals sign the son of arch rival's former closer with a big personality

While Cardinals fans always wanted to see Pedro Strop fail, they'll now be rooting hard for his son, Royel, who just signed as an international free agent.

Chicago Cubs v St. Louis Cardinals
Chicago Cubs v St. Louis Cardinals | Michael Thomas/GettyImages

International free agency is in full swing this week, and the St. Louis Cardinals are set to be fairly active amongst the top 100 prospects available in this year's group. One of the names they have now reportedly signed is actually the son of a former Chicago Cubs closer.

Royel Strop, one of the youngest free agents in this class, is the son of former Major League relief pitcher Pedro Strop, who most Cardinals fans would know from his eight seasons pitching with the Cubs. Royel Strop is a long, lanky left-handed hitting outfielder whose main calling card as a teenager is his bat control and feel for hitting line drives to all fields. Like most international amateur free agents, Strop has a long way to go in order to prove he has a future at the Major League level, but the tools are there for Strop to develop.

Strop was just outside Baseball America's top 100 international prospects in this year's class, slotting in at 31st overall. While Strop has a chance to stick in center field long-term, he'll have to develop a better feel for the position. Scouts seem to be divided on whether or not Strop would benefit from allowing more swing-and-miss in his approach in order to tap into more power, while others believe his patient approach at such a young age will continue to pay dividends as he develops.

The Cardinals hope Royel Strop can develop into a player who can do damage against Pedro Strop's former team, the Chicago Cubs

Second-generation Major League Baseball players are fun to root for, and while Strop is a long way away from that becoming a reality, it's fun to think about the possibility of him adding fuel to the Cardinals-Cubs rivalry.

Strop's father, Pedro, had an excellent big league career as a reliever, posting a 3.20 ERA over 13 seasons, eight of which came with the Cubs. During Strop's time with Chicago, he posted a 2.88 ERA in 413 games, mostly serving as a set-up man but did post 29 saves with the club filling in as a closer during different phases of his stint with the Cubs from 2013-2019 and 2021.

While Strop should be extremely proud of his big league career and Cubs' fans got the rare almost decade-run from a high-leverage reliever, Cardinals' fans know well that they got Strop's number on many occasions.

In Strop's 53 appearances against the Cardinals in his career, he posted a 4.06 ERA, by far the worst number he posted against any team in the division and the eight-worst ERA against any big league club he faced in his career. It is important to note though that Strop faced the Cardinals more than any other team in baseball.

Some of you may remember when the great Bob Costas roasted Strop as he was coming off of the mound after struggling against the Cardinals back on June 26, 2015. I linked the video on X below, as it makes me laugh every time.

Here's to hoping that Strop's son can carve out his own long and successful Major League career!

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