MLB pitcher Marcus Stroman envisioned as a New York Yankee. The Yankees are rumored to be the favorites to sign him. Image courtesy of Talkin' Yanks
With an abundance of pitching available this MLB offseason, a new major report has emerged.
According to MLB Network, the New York Yankees are the top candidate to sign free-agent pitcher Marcus Stroman. Stroman is coming off a pretty good season for the Chicago Cubs, in which he finished with an ERA of 3.95, 119 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.26. However, he was injured in the second half with a hip issue and was not as effective.
Rotation Bolster
The Yankees desperately need to improve their starting rotation with at least two pitchers. After ace Gerrit Cole, who is coming off a Cy Young season, the rotation becomes pretty weak. Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes are question marks following injury-riddled seasons. Michael King is gone, having been dealt to San Diego for Juan Soto. And Clarke Schmidt is still unproven.
Meanwhile, the Cubs just signed Japanese free-agent pitcher Shōta Imanaga. He can slide into their rotation, taking Stroman’s place. The Yankees were not interested in Imanaga due to his fly-ball issues, so Stroman could be their next choice. However, Stroman doesn’t come with controversy as he’s berated the Yankee organization and GM Brian Cashman in the past.
Past Beef
Back in 2019, Stroman chewed out Cashman on Twitter following the trade deadline. At that point, the Yankees opted not to trade for Stroman at the deadline after Cashman stated he did not envision Stroman being a part of their postseason rotation. Stroman is a Long Island native, and berated the Mets and their fans in a similar fashion after his short time with them. He has also blocked numerous Yankee fans on Twitter, so he would already be off on the wrong foot.
“We were interested in Stroman but we didn’t think he would be a difference-maker,” Cashman said back in 2019. “We felt he would be in our bullpen in the postseason.”
Additionally, he did suffer a hip injury last season as mentioned, and in 2024, the last thing the Yankees need is more injury-riddled players. However, if the Yankees do acquire Stroman, his actions are nothing good performance cannot heal. If he performs to exceptional quality, winning his first few starts and getting off to a good start, he will win the fanbase over.
Regardless of his controversial aura, there’s no denying that Stroman would be an upgrade in the Yankees rotation in 2024, if he’s healthy and performs. There are still a couple of months to go in the offseason, so anything can happen in the meantime.
