The Yankees have had quite the offseason following their most disappointing season in nearly 30 years by bringing in top talents like Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo to bolster the offense, but the starting rotation needed some help.
After missing out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto – one of the biggest foreign free agent pitchers in recent memory – the Yankees pivoted to a hometown kid as Marcus Stroman will come back to New York as a member of the Yankees in an effort to solidify the back end of the rotation.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan and YES Network's Jack Curry, Stroman reached out to the Yankees early last week in hopes of reaching a deal with the Pinstripes. On Thursday night, both sides agreed on a 2-year, $37 Million deal with a vesting option for a third season if he hits 140 innings pitched in 2024, making the deal worth $55 Million.
The deal is currently pending a physical but both sides verbally agreed to the terms of the deal.
Stroman, 32, was an All-Star last summer with the Chicago Cubs before melting down in the second half of the season, inflating his overall numbers to 10-9 with a 3.95 ERA. He opted out of the final year of his three-year contract with the Cubs in an effort to secure either more money or play in a situation that would allow him to win a World Series while he is still in his prime.
The last time the Yankees won the fall classic, Stroman was dealing for Patchogue-Medford High School as he was considered the best pitcher in New York State. His matchup with another ex-Met and Ward Melville Grad Steven Matz is considered one of the most hyped up and important games in Long Island Baseball history.
In the game against Matz on April 16, 2009, both pitchers – who were travel ball teammates – would get the ball in front of more than 50 scouts from every MLB team. The scouts would not leave disappointed as Matz struck out 12 and allowed one hit, leading his team to a 1–0 victory, while Stroman struck out 14 and allowed three hits. Both pitchers threw complete games.
Mets scout Larry Izzo later called it "one of the best duels I've ever seen" and he made sure to make Matz and later Stroman members of the Blue and Orange.
Stroman later went on to star at Duke before he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2012 with the 22nd overall pick in the MLB Draft. He would become one of the best pitching prospects in Baseball prior to his debut in 2014 and has been a two-time All-Star while holding a 3.65 career ERA.
As mentioned earlier, this won’t be the first time Stroman will play for a New York team as he was traded to the Mets midway through the 2019 season and would pitch in Queens until 2021. His best year in Queens was in his final year as he posted a 3.09 ERA over 179 innings while posting a 10-13 record in 33 starts.
Stroman will join a rotation where he isn’t expected to be the number one starter but instead be a back end of the rotation guy who will give the Pinstripes quality innings behind Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Nestor Cortes Jr.
The 2008 Yastrzemski Award Winner made headlines in the past for his hatred of the Yankees, their fanbase, and their policies about facial hair as he was very outspoken on X – formerly Twitter – about it, even going as far as saying no Yankee was on his level besides Gerrit Cole.
“Besides [Gerrit] Cole, there's no current Yankee pitcher who will be anywhere in my league over the next 5-7 years," Stroman tweeted in 2021. "Their pitching always folds in the end. That lineup and payroll should be winning World Series left and right...yet they're in a drought. Lol."
According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengdale, the hatchet was buried between the two parties after he met one on one with Brian Cashman in Tampa, Florida and the meeting ended with an offer being made to the Long Island Native.