One of MLB’s most vocal players, both on and off the field, Cubs starter Marcus Stroman again finds himself at the center of controversy, this time stemming from a deleted tweet bashing his former team, the New York Mets.
A Long Island native, Stroman had hoped to be a Met long-term but knew that was no longer in the cards once New York shelled out a combined $228 million for the free-agent trio of Max Scherzer, Starling Marte and Eduardo Escobar. The former World Baseball Classic MVP would ultimately defect to Chicago, joining the Cubs on a three-year, $71-million pact hours before MLB’s transaction freeze—the result of baseball’s first work stoppage in 26 years—went into effect.
Months later, Stroman still harbors animosity over how his free agency played out, feeling unwanted by the team he gave his heart and soul too. The 30-year-old didn’t hold back on Twitter, ripping GM Billy Eppler while claiming he’s “beyond thankful” to no longer be under the Mets’ employ. Stroman would later scrub the tweet (likely at the behest of his PR team) but by then, the damage was already done. Mets fans saved the receipts, screen-capping Stroman’s criticism of the team he made 44 starts for from 2019-2021 (the right-hander voluntarily sat out 2020 due to COVID concerns).
Most chalked Stroman’s anger up to a case of sour grapes, frustrated the Mets viewed him as a middle-of-the-rotation arm rather than an ace. To Stroman’s credit, the 5’7” hurler enjoyed one of his better seasons in 2021, leading the Mets in strikeouts (158), innings pitched (179) and ERA (3.02). That said, you can hardly blame New York for its pursuit of Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young winner and certain Hall of Famer very much in the prime of his career.
After stoking the flames on Twitter, it will be interesting to see what kind of reception Stroman gets when he returns to Queens this fall. The Cubs are scheduled to play at Citi Field September 12-14.
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