(Audacy) Between Walker Buehler, Cobin Burnes and a handful of others, there are more than a few elite arms in the National League who could make a case to win the Cy Young award this season.
But former MLB ace and current podcast host CC Sabathia is going with a name you won’t hear often in that conversation -- Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman.
Coming off a strong season with the Mets, Stroman is now on his third big league team after joining the Cubs on a three-year, $71-million contract. He’s set to be the No. 2 starter for a Cubs team that started a rebuild last season but plays in a division with two of the likely worst teams in the league.
And if it goes right for Stroman in his first year in Chicago, Sabathia, who won the American League Cy Young in 2007, believes he could be the Cy Young winner in the NL. Stroman had a 3.02 ERA in 33 starts in 2021.
"You know who I think could win the Cy Young in the National League? Stroman," Sabathia said on his "R2C2" podcast. "If he can stay healthy. If Stroman can make a season full of starts, I think he will be up there for the Cy Young in the National League.”
Sabathia went chalk in the AL, rolling with New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole.
Despite some solid years with the Toronto Blue Jays, Stroman has never really been on the Cy Young radar before. He finished in eighth place in the AL Cy Young voting in 2017 but otherwise hasn't popped up on a ballot.
Perhaps this will be the year those fortunes change.
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