When AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil established himself as a foundational piece for the Yankees’ rotation, that left the club with an interesting dilemma: the club had more starters than space in the rotation. While trading Nestor Cortes to the Brewers in the deal that brought closer Devin Williams into the fold helped to unclog the rotation somewhat, the deal only came after the Yankees had already added Max Fried. With Fried joining Gil, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, and Marcus Stroman in the rotation mix, the club still has more starters than rotation spots available.
That’s led to plenty of speculation that another trade could be coming down the pipeline for the Yankees, with Stroman sticking out as the likeliest to move. The club has reportedly been shopping the veteran righty throughout the winter, and is said to be willing to pay down a portion of the veteran’s $18.5MM salary in order to get a deal done. It’s a sensible goal for the Yankees, given thatt those dollars could be reallocated to help bolster second or third base. Assuming Jazz Chisholm Jr. moves back to second base, some combination of DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Oswald Peraza project to man the hot corner.
Unfortunately for the Yankees, Stroman is coming off the worst season of his career. The veteran posted a decent 4.31 ERA (95 ERA+) in 154 2/3 innings of work. That’s serviceable production for the back of a rotation, but a look under the hood reveals some worrying trends. Stroman posted career-worst numbers in terms of strikeout rate (16.7%), walk rate (8.9%), groundball rate (49.2%), and barrel rate (6.7%). That across-the-board decline in skills combined with his fastball velocity being nearly two ticks down from 2023 left him with a FIP that was 10% worse than league average and a 4.74 SIERA that was better than only Griffin Canning, Tyler Anderson, and Chris Flexen among all pitchers (min. 150 innings). While Stroman has been a fairly consistent three-WAR player throughout his career to this point, the wide-ranging decline in peripherals reduces optimism for a substantial bounceback in 2025 — his age-34 season.
Recent deals for veteran back-of-the-rotation arms suggest Stroman is overpaid, but perhaps not egregiously so. Alex Cobb landed a $15MM guarantee after making just three starts in 2024. Tomoyuki Sugano is 35 years old and has never thrown an MLB pitch; he commanded $13MM nonetheless. His 41-year-old rotation-mate in Baltimore, Charlie Morton, secured a $15MM guarantee of his own. It shouldn’t be all that difficult for the Yankees to find a taker for Stroman if they were able to pay down his salary to, say, the $10-12MM range that more well-regarded back-end veterans like Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn and others have been able to find in free agency in recent years.
That would seemingly allow the Yankees plenty of flexibility to sign an infielder, but one other obstacle to a Stroman deal is the veteran’s 2026 vesting option. If the right-hander pitches 140 innings in 2025, his 2026 option will vest and become an $18MM player option for the 2026 season. It seems unlikely that Stroman would turn that option down without a major bounceback season, meaning that an acquiring team that wishes to avoid that outcome would have to find a way to limit him to just 140 innings this year. That’s far from impossible, seeing as the righty posted back-to-back seasons with fewer innings than that benchmark with the Cubs in 2022 and ’23, but barring significant IL time, Stroman’s new club may need to move him to the bullpen at some point.
How do MLBTR readers think things will shake out? Will the Yankees be able to get a Stroman deal done? And if so, how much of his salary will they have to pay down to make a trade happen? Have your say in the poll below:
Halos could use him.
Not unless a sub .500 team needs an arm desperately. NYY was going to be stuck with him the second they “showed interest“
Yankees need bats. NYY needs an infield that hits better than a combined .199
Stroman, cash (lots of it) and a minor leaguer the Angels for Rengifo?
That works great for both teams, really. If Arte was smart he’d take on all of Stroman’s contract in exchange for some good minor league talent.
Rengifo is a switch hitter, decent at multiple spots but good at none, wRC+ of 114 and 117 the last two years.
I think people sleep on him as being a good player because he’s an Angel.
Rather have Flaherty. Unless the Yankees want Rendon.
No way Flaherty goes from Dodgers to Halos.
This feels like the Chase Headley deal a few years ago. The Yankees will need to add in some marginally useful piece like they did with adding Bryan Mitchell and get back some rule 5 fodder in return.
If Stroman had Adam Wainwright’s personality, he would be an asset. Nobody wants him because he is toxic. Same reason as to why guys like Yasiel Puig aren’t in the league anymore. I’m surprised that Tommy Pham and Amir Garrett still have jobs
I don’t know that he’s toxic. He’s just not smart, not cool, not kind, he’s arrogant, he’s ghetto, he’s unlikable AND he’s got a lousy arm. So, only the NYY had interest.
@178
Ahhhh…. thank you!! They’re it goes….”ghetto”. What had he done that makes him “ghetto”? Has he ever been accused of rape, theft (other than his salary), assault, drug use, spitting on kids, etc? Please… PRETTY PLEASE…. exclaim to us all, what makes him “ghetto”?
He did chop his dogs ears off although I label that more in the “cruel” category than “ghetto”
@bhd
Ear cropping is something that has been done historically for certain breeds. In the last decade has become less popular but still bring fine throughout Europe. You can detest it but it doesn’t make him a cruel pet owner. I think that needs to be explained, so ppl dint think he’s done sadistic person who’s doing it himself for jollies. Most go to animal doctors who perform the surgery. Not defending him but ppl get to carried away demonizing ppl for culture differences. Maybe in the next 20 years it’ll be a phased out custom.
And if it needs to be done for a health reason that’s different. From what I remember he got it done pretty much immediately after getting the dog. Seems aesthetic but who knows
I don’t think it’s really arrogance, ghetto, or any of that. It’s much more basic then that. HDMH (Height Doesn’t Measure Heart) is his personal motto. He’s been told he’s too small his whole baseball career.
As a result, he spends every day trying to prove his doubters (real and imagined) wrong. He has a chip on his shoulder the size of the Empire State building. It’s what has motivated him to the level he’s reached. It’s also why he burns his bridges, because every friend, sooner or later, becomes a doubter that must be disproven.
It’s him against the world. A great motivational ideal, but it means everyone is the enemy.
Stroman went back to Duke and graduated with a degree in sociology.
He’s obviously intelligent and Duke is a long way from ghetto.
Duke grads are the new ghetto apparently
I only hope my son can be that ghetto some day.
Underratedly awesome and hilarious comment, HalosHeaven
@178iq
You sure do seem to be rather remarkably dimwitted for someone so intently focused on bragging about their supposed superior intellect. Poor diction, poor authorial voice. Clearly not a writer, or at least not one well-versed in good writing strategies. It appears to me that your education, unlike Stroman, probably began in the “ghetto” yourself. I understand, then, why your blatantly obvious insecurity about your own, feeble intellect would lead you to say blatant, racially dog-whistling nonsense!
Agreed, but if he could pitch competitively someone would take a chance on his toxicity.
He didn’t have that rep last season. Maybe he just needs the right clubhouse fit.
I don’t know his history but he didn’t have a toxic personality last season. He seemed like a good team guy.
His stuff has degraded. I’m surprised he wasn’t hit hardwr.
Maybe the Giants to take advantage of the groundball rate since they already have the infrastructure behind Webb… but yeah definitely not at that number
Why do the Giants get mentioned for almost every non-appealing guy that fans would like to see their team rid of? I remember how Yankee fans were constantly offering trade scenarios sending Jacoby Ellsbury to SF.
The Giants don’t need a guy like Stroman. They have about 5 young starters, not counting Whisenhunt, that will need innings beyond Webb, Ray, Harrison, Hicks and Verlander.
Of course they can, and they will. Stroman, away from Yankee Stadium, had an ERA around the low 3’s and still had an elite GB%. He’s just overpaid, but he would be a 3-5 on at least 15 teams. If the Yanks ate $8 million per then, I think teams would trade for him for a low-level talent prospect.
Knicks, I think that road ERA is misleading. He had a 1.529 WHIP, with only a 1.26 SO/W ratio on the road. He walked more guys in his 70 road innings than he did in his 84.2 IP at Yankee Stadium. He also struck out only about half the batters on the road than he did at home. The only thing he really did well away was limit the HRs, but that’s probably due more to Yankee Stadium. At 34, I don’t think there’s much appeal for any team except maybe the ones really desperate for pitching.
Dude it’s crystal clear.
Home vs road
5.31 ERA vs 3.09 ERA
15 hrs vs 4 hrs
Among pitchers with 130 IP+ he ranked 54th overall. That makes him a 3rd or 4th starter in most teams. His GB rate is still elite as he ranks 9th at 49.5%. Reduce his salary by eating $8 mil and trade him to a park that reduces homers but have a good defensive infield, and you have a winner.
Clear if you want to cherry-pick. The ERA and HRs allowed are basically his only good away numbers. A pitcher that allows more than 1.5 base runners per inning, and a.359 OBP on the road, while striking out only 5 per game isn’t very good at all.
Plus, unless a team wants to pay him $18M in 2026, they have to limit his IP to less than 140. $8M is probably good for 2025, but I don’t see teams gambling getting stuck with him for an additional year at $18M. Maybe if the Yanks pay an additional $8M for 2026, contingent on his deal vesting, then maybe some team will want him.
@Jean
I’m not cherry-picking at all. I’m not trying to sell him as a good pitcher but showing how a change from a 7 home prime market could help reduce his era. 15 vs 4 and 5.31 vs. 3.09 are glaring differences.
excuse the typos.
… showing how a change from a homer prone market…
Angels have a Seattle high priced prospect bust Evan White who is essentially making 12 million this year including the buy-out. That could be a mutual helpful swap.
Yankees free up the roster spot and 6-7 million.
Angels get a serviceable SP
Nah. Angels already have enough serviceable SPs.
You reminded me about this forgotten trade that swapped Stassi and Fletch for Thomas and White. Talk about a pointless trade.
Neither Stassi nor White played last season – both got hurt.
Fletch ended up all the way down in AA at some point.
Thomas played all season, but was let go at the end.
I guess the best you could say about the trade is that it saved the Angels 6 million.
Something to consider with Stroman is Yankee stadium is a tough place to pitch and he was much better on the road in 2024. His home ERA was a little over 5 his road ERA just a little over 3. That’s basically the difference between a good pitcher and a not so good one.
I think that road ERA is misleading. A lot of the peripherals, like WHIP, SO/W, batters walked, and OBP, were actually worse on the road. The only he did well away was limit the HRs, which is a factor in the better ERA on the road. But there’s not a lot to like in his road numbers.
I’m surprised he wasnt thrown into the Brewers deal for Williams.
There is no way Milwaukee would take on that salary.
Reports indicate that the Yankees are willing to take on salary. That of course would have to happen for the Brewers to even consider it.
Maybe the Brewers didn’t want him. Based off his “personality” noted in previous comments there ight be a reason for that.
They don’t want to pay a below average SP $18.5m.
It has nothing to do with his ‘personality.’
They can trade him as long as they eat money and take a minimal return back. I do think it’s at least 50/50 that he’s still a Yankee on opening day though
One of the real problems in these types of deals whether in MLB or the NBA is that with this type of “taxation” the ability of getting rid of the player is more valuable to one team than the other team acquiring the player and letting the tax paying team off the hook is something that the tax paying team MUST be held accountable for in the trade.
I don’t think that makes any sense at all.
Yes to the padres
Yankees get Cease and Cronenworth to play 2B where he’s posted 3-4 WAR as full time 2B
Padres take back
Stroman
Jasson Dominguez
Chase Hampton # 6
Brock Selvidge # 7
Zach Messinger # 18
Cam Schlitter #26
Oswaldo Cabrera
Ben Rice
You living a bit close to the Cannabis plantation wildfire?
What is it with the folks that have TPTS – trade proposal Tourettes syndrome?
They are always far more complex than any trade that has ever been made, usually full of one-sided bias, involve dozens of moving parts, and make about as much sense as an Adderal-ravaged shlump in the oval office.
Take out Dominguez and maybe. But thats still probably too much for the Yankees to give up.
Yankees will not trade Dominguez.
Lol what?
@Bring
(in high pitched voice) “Stroman, JD and 6 prospects? Who you think you trading, Chelsea Clinton”?
-Chris Tucker
Settle down! This ain’t the local swap meet.
LOL
A huge no thank you
The angels are idiots, they’d take him.
If you were looking for a backend starter which would you prefer Montgomery or Stroman?
Monty has the higher ceiling at this point.
But more expensive, how much salary would DBacks pay?
Outside of Yankee Stadium, his numbers were quite good. Lots of teams could use him.
I already said that bud
I agree, Mad Hatter. Surprised no one else pointed that out yet.
Look more closely at those road numbers. You need to go beyond ERA. The numbers aren’t really very attractive, and those are the things any team that might be interested will look at.
Outside of Yankee Stadium, his numbers were quite good.
===================
Meh. His road OPS was .750, which is weak, and his K/W/9 was 5.0/4.0, which is awful.
George’s Yankees would deal him and eat salary to a certain percentage. The George’s kid’s Yankees team will only eat some and don’t expect any decent prospects being included.
I don’t know why they just don’t keep him. If they have to make Stroman or Schmidt the long man. Eventually someone is getting hurt. I am looking at you Rodon.
I agree with you to an extent but Ol George didn’t have to deal with the luxury tax. They also have a bunch of depth arms in the minors. Stroman can be traded by eating salary or attaching mid-ceiling prospects. No team has met Cashman’s price yet.
Yoshida for Stroman, Yoshida’s bat would play well in the Bronx, half the Sox’s rotation has arms ready to fly apart.
Yoshida has a much worse contract and the Red Sox really don’t need Stroman.
Stroman had a 0.7 bWAR and is owed $36.5M/2.
Yoshi had a 1.4 bWAR and is owed $55.8M/3.
It’s debatable which contract is worse, but the difference wouldn’t be enough to stop a trade.
When the first move Cashman made in the offseason was to resign Trent Grisham while he remains arb-eligible, he’s prioritizing defense. There’s no place to play Yoshida unless they want to block Dominguez or Stanton.
I think the fact that the Yankees haven’t made any additional free agent moves recently is tied to moving Stroman. Not in the moving the contract way, though that helps, but moreso that they’re trying to address any additional needs with this trade.
It’s basically an untradable contract unless the Yankees kicked in a ton of cash. That vesting option is brutal. Either he sucks so bad he doesn’t go 140 innings or he’s decent and vests at 18 mil for 2026. A 35-year-old junk baller isn’t worth half that.
I love how Alex Cobb signs for $15 mil and suddenly every scrub is supposedly a $15 million pitcher.
Well, yeah. The market price is what it is like it or not.
Seems like a Arenado for Stroman and maybe Yankees toss in some a mid range prospect and a high ceiling low floor A prospect would benefits both teams..
How does that benefit the Yankees? Instead of owing $18.5 for one year to Stroman (you know they aren’t letting him pitch the needed innings to vest his option)… they’d owe around $64 million to Arenado over 3 years and lose 2 prospects. No thanks!
Charley Morton signed a 1 year 15 mil deal
Morton had a 4.46 FIP in 165 IP last year, and got 15 mil going in to his age 41 season.
Stroman had 4.62 FIP in 153 IP last year and will get 18 mil for his age 34 season.
I really don’t think the Yankees are going to have trouble flipping him, maybe they can add in a bit of cash but it shouldn’t take much. Even with the vesting option, This is the market price on a 1 year deal for a back of the rotation starter
So Morton pitched more innings with a better FIP, for $3.5M less. Okay, they’re somewhat close. But the reason I don’t see that comparison as clean as you do, is because of Stroman’s vesting option. Morton is on a year deal. But an acquiring team has to limit Stroman to less than 140 IP, or they’re stuck with him for another year, and $18M more. I don’t see many teams willing to gamble on a potential $36.5M hit, especially the ones up against one of the CBT thresholds.
Stroman is 8 years younger so a 2 year deal isn’t that outrageous.
It is if he continues to decline. Over the last 3 seasons his ERA+ has gone from 119 to 108 to 95, and his bWAR has gone from 2.7 to 1.6 to 0.7. $36.5M for a pitcher with a 0.7 bWAR, or worse, is too much, despite his age.
Morton just got 15 million and was 1.1 bWAR last year and his era+ was 99.
Yanks prob need to again 6-8 mil, or take on a small contract back
If you were a GM/PBO whose deal would you rather have, Morton’s or Stroman’s. For me that’s easy, Morton. I’d rather have a clean 1 year deal, than that vesting option that comes with Stroman. Plus, Morton’s numbers weren’t great last season, but they were still better than Stroman’s.
I think $8M would be the minimum the Yanks need to eat, but I’d also want a contingency in case Stroman’s deal vested, if I were to trade for him.
Stroman was in the AL east and is 8 years younger.
If he was a free agent I don’t think he’d have trouble finding that AAV
I couldn’t disagree more. I don’t think there’s anyway Stroman gets 2/$36.5M if he were a FA. Not with his declining numbers. He’d probably get the 1/$15M that Morton and Cobb got.
The fact that he pitched in the ALE is irrelevant. The park adjusted numbers for him aren’t good. And I think you’re placing too much value in his age. Some pitchers, especially, those with a smaller stature, are done by their mid-30s, while other guys are effective into their 40s.
Stroman had 100ip at 3.5 era in the first half last year. Still lots in the tank
@dusty
You act like the Yankees just now decided they should move Stroman. If the NYY weren’t going to have any problem flipping him, it would have already been done. The teams that were willing to pay FA prices, already spent their allotment. The teams with remaining need don’t pay those prices. All they can do is wait for some team to have a few injuries in spring training, or give him away.
They will definetely be giving him away.
But there are also some starters still left in FA without homes, maybe Stroman gets flipped to the Angels if they don’t get Flaherty
Attempting to trade an overpriced Stroman seemed inevitable when the Yankees signed him.
Kids a cancer to any clubhouse. Going to have to pay down a significant portion of that contract.
I guess you haven’t paid attention to the Yankees clubhouse and things his teammates have to say about him especially the younger ones.
Teams don’t seem to line up to acquire, or keep him.. I got this fron the Post:
“Shortly after he yelled on the mound — he appeared to be saying “Throw the f—ing ball” — then got out some more screaming in the dugout,”
You wonder how often this happens and it doesn’t make the papers.
@JoeBrady I watched that game. Stroman was struggling on the mound. A groundball was hit towards Gleyber who had to lunge. He held onto to the ball assuming the runners were going to advanced safely. It was squashed with Gleyber in the dugout before the game was even over evident in both of their post-game interviews.
It’s the NY Post. I don’t know what you expect really.
Yankees players’ personal Instagram profiles tell a different story about Stroman throughout the season.
How you spell clubhouse cancer – S T R O M A N
He’s perfect for Toronto..They know his name, he’s old and over-priced, and he’ll fit in performance-wise.
It will probably happen during Spring Training when pitchers start blowing out their UCLs.
I’m surprised a team like Oakland doesn’t take a shot, at a reduced price.
Everyone should know my opinion by now. Unload DJL. You can never have enough pitching depth. If Yankees are willing to eat half of Stroman contract why not DJL
He could end up filling in because of injuries n being one of there better pitchers. Can never have to much pitching.
Stroman is a better pitcher in a pitchers park, his ground ball rate is good! He is worth between 10 to 12 million, This gives the Yanks room to sign a player like Kim!
Keep him as a spot starter for the first half of the year. Then we he has no chance to earn the option they can trade him and dump what remains of the salary. There are always teams looking for arms at the halfway mark.
I’d rather trade for Montgomery at 1/$22.5M or less than Stroman at 2/$39M or less.