The Yankees have agreed to terms with free agent right-hander Marcus Stroman on a two-year, $37 million deal that includes an option for a third season, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Stroman also posted a photo of himself in a Yankees uniform to his Instagram stories.
The club has not yet confirmed the contract, which is still subject to the results of medical examinations.
It’s not the first time Stroman has been linked to the Yankees. In 2019, New York expressed interest in his services before the trade deadline. At the time, Stroman was with the Blue Jays and dreamed of playing for the Bronx Bombers. Stroman is originally from Medford, New York, less than two hours from the Bronx.
“I’m from New York and I’m a New York boy. That speaks for itself,” Strowman said at the time. “I love pitching (at Yankee Stadium). New York is like the Mecca of the world. I like excitement, bright lights, competition, I like pressure. I always loved pitching here. I didn’t necessarily pitch well. But I always enjoyed it. Yankees lineups are brutal. They are a bit difficult to navigate. I love the focus. As big as the moment is, I wanted it to be.
Stroman has been a consistently above-average starter for most of his career since debuting with the Blue Jays in 2014. His ERA+ has not been lower than 113 (13% better than average) in any of the last four seasons. He posted 113 last season, which looked like perhaps the best year of his career for a 32-year-old pitcher. He maintained a 2.28 ERA and .536 opponents’ OPS in his first 16 starts with the Cubs, leading to his second All-Star Game appearance.
However, Stroman’s 2023 campaign suffered a setback in July, as he allowed 27 earned runs in 26.2 innings that month and went on the injured list on August 2 with inflammation in his right hip. Fractured cartilage in his right rib delayed Stroman’s return to the mound, and once he rejoined the Cubs on September 15, he pitched just eight innings in four relief appearances to finish the year. He finished with a 3.95 ERA, the second-highest mark of his career.
These injuries also kept Stroman’s innings total below 140 for the second straight season. In 2022, he missed a month due to right shoulder inflammation and was out for more than two weeks due to a bout with Covid-19.
Before that, Stroman was one of the most durable pitchers in baseball. He surpassed 180 innings three times in four seasons between 2016 and 2019. He surpassed 200 innings in the 2016 and 2017 seasons with the Blue Jays. That final season, he won the Gold Glove Award and finished in the top 10 in the American League Cy Young Award voting.
After being selected to his first All-Star Game in 2019, Stroman was traded from the Blue Jays to the Mets, where he played until 2021. He missed all of 2020 with a torn left calf muscle and then opted out due to COVID. -Anxiety in August 19.
Stroman, who typically has a below-average strikeout rate, has always relied on his sinker to induce plenty of ground balls and limit really damaging contact. His ground ball rate was above 60% in the first four years of his career and never dipped below 50%. He finished 2023 at 57%, his best figure since 2018.
