The Blue Jays won their arbitration hearing against right-hander Marcus Stroman, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (via Twitter). Stroman will receive the $6.5MM salary submitted by the team rather than the$6.9MM salary submitted by his representatives at the Legacy Agency (as can be seen in MLBTR’s 2018 Arbitration Tracker). It still marks a healthy $3.1MM raise from last year’s $3.4MM salary.
Stroman, 27 in May, turned in his second straight 200-inning season for the Jays in 2017, working to a strong 3.09 ERA with 7.3 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 through 201 frames. At a time when the league was surrendering home runs at historic levels, Stroman continued to limit the long ball, averaging just 0.9 HR/9 — thanks, in large part, to an MLB-best 62.1 percent ground-ball rate.
He’ll return to a rotation that will also feature Aaron Sanchez, Marco Estrada and J.A. Happ, with the fifth spot still up for grabs. Toronto could potentially add a fifth starter from an abnormally deep pool of unsigned players at this stage of the offseason. If not, prospects Ryan Borucki heads up the team’s list of rotation options on the 40-man roster now that Joe Biagini is likely moving back to the bullpen.
The Blue Jays control Stroman, a Super Two player who was in his second trip through the arb process, through the 2020 season.
Stroman took to twitter and said “Lost arbitration. Is what it is. Looking forward to going out and dealing again. The negative things that were said against me, by my own team, will never leave my mind. I’m thick-skinned so it will only fuel the fire. Can’t wait for this year! #HDMH”
Would really like to hear things that are exchanged in a meeting like this.
There was an article in days gone by that detailed some of these comments said in meetings. Bascially, they look at a every negative stat and every negative personality characteristic connected to performance. The player’s agent does the opposite and they a decision is rendered.
In previous Blue jays administrations,, the the Blue Jays leadership has not wanted to take it to arbitration because of what Stroman mentioned, they do not want any sort of negativity between the club and the player influencing performance.
By the way,Stroman is not thick skinned, he is very thin skinned as illustrated by his many blowups on the mound. He gets easily offended and can be thrown off his game or alternatively, it may cause him to properly focus even more. Once he overcomes this, he can move into ace pitcher territory, it is this immaturity that sometimes causes him to lose it on the mound.
If he’s thin skinned and the Jays dragged him through arbitration over a small difference—well, I don’t understand that.
People always assume it’s the club dragging the player to the hearing. With the record number of hearings, it seems like the players/agents are wanting to go to arbitration.
not the case at all
It takes two to go to arbitration. Stroman could of accepted the Jays offer to begin with.
Well then why did Stroman drag the Blue Jays to Arbitration
Because he could. It’s in the CBA. More money available, greed.
I think that any pitcher who pitches more than 200 innings deserves that kind of raise. A big jump from 3.1, but seriously. 200 innings is a feat in today’s market
If you have to say, “I’m thick-skinned,” you’re not thick-skinned. Especially when you literally say it one sentence after saying, “the negative things that were said against me… will never leave my mind.” Dude sounds like a head case.
I wanted to say the same thing. He’s clearly very upset he lost 300,000 friggin dollars. He’s a good pitcher. He knows what he signed up for. He will get paid accordingly one day take a chill pill kid.
..like when someone starts a sentence with , “Not to sound racist, but….” you know they are getting ready to say something racist.
I think that’s why a team like St. Louis likes to meet somewhere in the middle of whats being offered and what the player and agent want. Keeps them from having to nitpick on every little detail and potentially feelings can get hurt and the player goes to twitter and then talks bad about the organization.
Would love to see this guy in a bigger media market. He has a very infectious personality and should be marketed by MLB (amongst some others) like the NBA does with their stars. Put this guy on a team like the Dodgers (for example) right now with his talent and he’d be big time.
Bigger media market? It is Toronto…
Fyi, New York, LA, Philly, Chicago are much bigger media markets.
New York and LA yes, Chicago and Philadelphia no. The Greater Toronto Area is the 4th largest market in North America, only behind New York, LA and Mexico City. And that’s before you consider how the rest of the Canada treats the Blue Jays.
We are not talking about “largest market” we are talking about largest “media” market, there is a big difference.
It’s Canada lol
He gots the entire country
Toronto is a gigantic market…
Lmao…that might be the stupidest thing I’ve read on here…you do realize he pitches for a whole country right?…it’s a pretty decent size market dummy
He wrote “media market” not “market size”, there is a big difference.
So your saying the country of Canada isn’t a good media market?
The team is literally owned by the biggest media company in the country
The size of the media market is the issue not good or bad. For example, it’s well known that a star player can maket 100’s of times the wealth doing endorsements in the USA media markets compared to toronto/Canada. The eyesballs and advertsiing are worth much more. That’s all about the media in these core cities.
Look at the Dodgers cable rights fees for proof. Billions. As compared to “pennies” for the Jays in Canada.
People don’t seem to be paying attention to the word “media”.
Never said good or bad.
It was bigblue.
As in- a 35 million population sizes media market?
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content.
There is the google definition, soo again all of Canada falls under the jays DMA based on googles definition
Yea what’s up with that?
So your saying the jays are in fact a good media market…and as a bonus a pretty good size market?
every Jays game is televised, on the owners sports network no less, Canada-wide
The revenues associated with those Rogers broadcasts are no where near the revenues associated with the LA or New or Cubs etc.
If you’re talking revenue as the differentiating factor than you need to include revenue for each regional sports network that carries the Jays as their anchor team.
That JAys regional revenue is peanuts compared to a Yankee or LA contract for regional games
Talking about the Dodgers’ TV deal is nonsensical. The Jays obviously have no need for such a deal when Rogers owns the team and broadcaster. The Jays crush every other team in regional viewership; it’s not even close. If you don’t think Rogers couldn’t sell the Jays’ TV rights for a fortune if they decided to stop broadcasting their games on RSN, you’re out of your mind.
No, the Jays are going to get next to peanuts if for those regional broadcasts and may I suggest that you ask someone in the business to comfirm this.[like I have]. That amount of money is not even close to the regional dollars available to the Yankees and Dodgers etc.
Do your homework.
They’re going to get peanuts for their viewers just because they aren’t in a gigantic media market like Los Angeles? Doesn’t make any sense, and the data doesn’t support that. Baseball teams in media markets much smaller than Toronto’s, and with a fraction of the viewership that the Jays have, have landed sizable TV deals. Not Dodgers money obviously, but not “pennies” or “peanuts” either. Toronto would have one of the biggest TV deals in baseball; I don’t see how that can even be debated.
Are you sure you’d like to assume none of the responses came from individuals in the business?
“you do realize he pitches for a whole country right?” Do you know what the term media market means? Once you Google the difference in market size and media market perhaps you just might get the post. @jimmertree got it.
Well please genius explain it to us…us Canadians don’t understand…we just got the internet a few months back and still trying to figure it out…what’s google?
How does one plug the internet into an igloo, also can it run off my snowmobile battery?
Ok explain a little further eh?
Forget for a second about him pitching for an entire country which is a big media market. Here are the top 4 media markets in North America.
New York
Los Angeles
Chicago
Toronto
Now if you include the rest of Canada which the games are televised and over the radio to every province and Territory you can see that if your are calling this media market small you are calling 99% of the cities that have MLB teams small media markets.
Please provide your link showing where Toronto is the fourth largest “media market” in North America. That being said show me where I said Toronto was a small market. I posted “would love to see this guy in a bigger media market” like an LA. All of a sudden the Toronto market size and good or bad were thrown into question which wasn’t my point..there’s a difference between “media and market”. Trying to compliment a player and guys get bent accusing me of things and using immature rhetoric. Geesh!
If you google (said ok google to my moose) just kidding…google media market New York and the Wikipedia article actually lists the top 4. I knew Toronto would be high but I wasn’t expecting that high even myself.
So by that reasoning you feel anyone good should go and play in LA, NY, or Chicago? What sense does that make bud. It’s like me saying I’d love to see Kershaw play in Toronto so that his kids could be safe in School and not worry about them being shot.
Igloo not looking all bad right now!
Just because he pitches for an entire country of Canada, that doesn’t necessarily mean the whole country is rooting for the Blue Jays.
This is a valid point but this argument opens up debate on the LA, Chicago and NY market based on the two-team model. It’s a slippery slope to make an argument on, but your point is well received.
Love him with the Astros
Astroman
Hahaha! If he eventually does go the only way I’d be happy about it is if this is the headline
He deserved the $6.9 MM
I’ve always been a fan of his and would love him in Yankee pinstripes in the near future. Nyc would be fantastic and he would love the festive atmosphere here
He got upset about his team not giving him 300,000 more than he wanted and made their case by telling him why he doesn’t deserve it, New York media will tear him apart.
Goose Gossage would drop dead if Stroman ended up with the Yanks! Lol
by “festive” you mean forbidden to grow facial hair, right?