Could the Yankees’ search for rotation depth lead them to a local and former cross-town rival?
In his Sunday column for USA Today Sports, Bob Nightengale wrote the following about RHP Marcus Stroman:
Free-agent starter Marcus Stroman has informed the Yankees he’s seriously interested in signing with them, but the Yankees have declined to make an offer.
Stroman, 32, opted out of the final year of his deal with the Cubs, which would have been worth $21 million, after posting a 3.73 ERA in 275 1/3 innings from 2022-23 and missing time in both seasons. Prior to that, Stroman had a 3.31 ERA in 238 2/3 innings over two-plus seasons with the Mets from 2018-2021 – coming over at the deadline in ’18, and then opting out of the 2020 season.
He is, of course, a Long Island native, but beyond his pitching prowess, Stroman has caused controversy with some of his social media posts, including now-deleted Tweets that appeared to bash then-Mets GM Billy Eppler in February 2022, after Stroman signed with Chicago.
Projections from The Athletic (three years, $63 million) and MLB Trade Rumors (two years, $44 million) have his next deal in the neighborhood of what he just opted out of only longer, but that may change as more and more pitchers come off the board – the latest Sean Manaea, who reportedly agreed to a two-year deal with the Mets on Sunday.
Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell, the top two remaining free agent starters, are both Scott Boras clients and could hold out for the best deals, but one option is sure to come off the board this week: Shota Imanaga, whose posting window expires Thursday.
Stroman is ranked by MLBTR as the highest free agent starter available after Montgomery, Snell, and Imanaga, with those lower down the list that have signed getting contracts similar in length and/or value to Manaea’s.
The Yankees have added two swingman/back-end starters in the last week, Cody Morris and Cody Poteet, but the depth chart beyond the top four is cloudy; they have Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, and Clarke Schmidt penciled in, but Cortes suffered two shoulder strains last season and Schmidt set a career high in innings by quite a bit.
Beyond those four and the new additions, the Yankees have Yoendrys Gomez, whose MLB debut was his only game above Double-A; Luis Gil, who is returning from Tommy John surgery; and top prospects Clayton Beeter and Will Warren, the latter of whom is not on the 40-man roster, as current depth.
