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Marcus Stroman

Rotation Notes: Scherzer, Stroman, Imanaga, Eovaldi

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The Blue Jays will activate Max Scherzer from the 60-day injured list on Wednesday to start Toronto’s game against the Guardians, the team announced.  Scherzer has thrown two Triple-A rehab outings and then tossed 30-40 pitches in a bullpen session today in what seems like the final checkpoint in an extended recovery process from a thumb problem that has plagued the future Hall-of-Famer for over a year.  “My stuff is fine.  I’m trying everything I can to manage this (thumb) and make sure I can recover.  There’s no knowing, just have to get out there,” Scherzer told Sportnet’s Hazel Mae and Shi Davidi.

Scherzer signed a one-year, $15.5MM deal with the Jays this past offseason, but he lasted just three innings before thumb soreness forced him out of his Toronto debut on March 29.  As Scherzer acknowledged, it is anyone’s guess as to whether or not this thumb problem could resurface, and it stands to reason that the Blue Jays will limit Scherzer’s pitch count.  Since the 50-pitch threshold has generally been the tipping point for Scherzer’s thumb, it is a good sign that he threw beyond 50 pitches in both of his rehab starts, topping out at 74 pitches.  Toronto seems likely to explore piggyback or long relief options behind Scherzer on Wednesday and for the foreseeable future, until Scherzer feels comfortable enough to test throwing deeper into games.

Here’s the latest on some other prominent pitchers nearing a return to a big league mound…

  • Marcus Stroman will throw his third and possibly final minor league rehab start on Tuesday, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other reporters.  Assuming Stroman gets through that outing (set for roughly 70 pitches) feeling good, Boone said Stroman might then “be in the mix” to be activated from the 60-day IL.  The right-hander made three starts before knee inflammation sent Stroman to the IL in April, and a setback resulted in Stroman being shifted to the 60-day IL as he continued his recovery process.  With Ryan Yarbrough hitting the 15-day IL today, there’s a ready-made opening for Stroman within New York’s rotation.
  • A left hamstring strain has kept Shota Imanaga out of action since the first week of May, but after making three minor league rehab starts, Imanaga will return to the Cubs’ rotation this week.  Manager Craig Counsell shared the news with reporters (including Vinnie Duber of the Chicago Sun-Times), but stopped short of confirming that Imanaga would indeed pitch during the four-game series with the Cardinals that begins on Monday.  The Cubs are still monitoring Matthew Boyd after the southpaw suffered a bruised shoulder in his last start, so there’s a bit of flux in the rotation order until Boyd’s status is confirmed.  Regardless, Imanaga’s return is obviously great news for a Chicago team is leading the NL Central despite operating without Imanaga and Justin Steele for the majority of the season.  Following his spectacular 2024 rookie year, Imanaga has kept it going in 2025 with a 2.82 ERA in 44 2/3 innings and eight starts this season.
  • Nathan Eovaldi hasn’t pitched since May 27 due to right posterior elbow inflammation, but it seems as though he’ll return to the Rangers without a minor league rehab assignment.  Manager Bruce Bochy indicated (to Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News and other reporters) that Eovaldi will be activated from the 15-day IL to start during the Rangers’ upcoming series with the Mariners that begins on Friday.  Though Eovaldi won’t need any rehab starts, he did ramp up in the form of a live batting practice session of over 50 pitches on Saturday.  With Tyler Mahle, Jon Gray, and Cody Bradford all still on the Texas IL, getting staff ace Eovaldi back is an enormous help, as the righty had a sterling 1.56 ERA in his first 69 1/3 innings of the season.

Yankees Notes: Weaver, Stanton, Rice, Stroman, Volpe

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Yankees manager Aaron Boone provided the media (including the New York Post’s Greg Joyce and MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) with injury updates on several players, including closer Luke Weaver.  A left hamstring strain sent Weaver to the 15-day injured list earlier this week and reports suggested Weaver would miss between 4-6 weeks, though the Yankees themselves didn’t announce a timeline.  While it is still very early in the recovery process, Weaver looks to be showing some progress, as he received a PRP injection in his hamstring and has resumed throwing in each of the last two days.

“[We] like the early stages of where he’s at and how he’s expressing to me how he feels,” Boone said of Weaver’s status.  “He’s pretty encouraged and optimistic considering the injury and the timeline with it. So hopefully he does better than that.”

While we won’t know more until (or if) the Yankees release a more concrete timeline for Weaver, it would obviously be great news for New York if the right-hander can return sooner rather than later.  Weaver has been excellent basically ever since the Yankees claimed him off waivers from the Mariners late in the 2023 season, and the reliever has become not just a high-leverage arm but a ninth-inning answer in each of the last two years.  The Yankees installed Weaver at closer when Clay Holmes ran into some struggles in 2024, and Weaver received more save situations this year in the wake of Devin Williams’ rough start.

Turning to the lineup, Giancarlo Stanton might finally be closing in on his first on-field action of 2025, as Boone suggested that “a rehab [assignment]’s in play next week.”  Stanton has been recovering from torn tendons in both elbows, and since these injuries cost him all of Spring Training, it has been a slow and gradual build as the slugger has gotten back into game shape.  His recent work at the Yankees’ spring complex in Tampa has included running drills and multiple live batting-practice sessions.

While Stanton will certainly require multiple rehab games to get him fully ramped up for a return to the majors, the exact length of his rehab stint is to be determined.  Since Stanton will be returning to a DH-only role, Boone previously said that Stanton may have something less than a standard rehab assignment, as Stanton will be focusing just on hitting rather than fielding work.  If the veteran feels his batting eye and timing are set, it could conceivably be a relatively short time in the minors for Stanton, with his health obviously also a factor.

Stanton is also expected to return to the majors in something less than a full-time capacity as the Yankees’ DH, both in order to ease him back into action and to allow Ben Rice to keep getting some time in the lineup.  Rice has cooled off significantly after a scorching start to the season, but he is still hitting .245/.330/.511 with 12 home runs over 209 plate appearances.  Most of that playing time has come as a designated hitter, but Rice has also made 10 appearances at first base and four appearances at catcher.

This will remain Rice’s positional usage once Stanton gets back, as SNY’s Andy Martino writes that the Yankees aren’t planning to use Rice as a third baseman.  Since Rice recently did some pregame fielding work at the hot corner, some speculation arose that the club might try to include Rice in its third base mix, but Martino poured cold water on that possibility.  The left-handed hitting Rice may find himself in something of a platoon with the right-handed hitting Stanton at DH, with Rice also occasionally spelling Paul Goldschmidt at first base and getting the odd game at catcher when Austin Wells or J.C. Escarra need a rest day.

Besides Stanton, Marcus Stroman may also be nearing a rehab assignment, though Boone said any decisions about Stroman’s next steps may wait until after the club sees how he fully recovers from his latest throwing session.  Stroman threw around 40 pitches over two innings of a live batting practice on Thursday, and told Boone in the immediate aftermath that his left knee was feeling good.

Inflammation in that left knee has kept Stroman from pitching in a big league game since April 11, though New York hasn’t yet moved Stroman from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL.  It has been almost a month since Stroman’s throwing progression was shut down after more knee soreness surfaced after another live BP, so it is understandable why the Yankees are continuing to be cautious with the right-hander’s timeline after this most recent batting practice session.

It is also worth noting that Boone said Stroman will be built up as a starting pitcher, which means Stroman will be returning to his preferred role.  Early-season injuries elsewhere in New York’s rotation ensured Stroman would indeed be beginning the year as a starter once more, before his own knee issue created another hole in the starting five.  Despite the absences of Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, and Stroman, the Yankees’ starters have remained one of the better rotations in the league, as Will Warren and especially swingman Ryan Yarbrough have been quite capable fill-ins.

Amidst all of these injuries, the Yankees seem to have dodged another bullet yesterday when scans came back negative on Anthony Volpe’s left elbow.  The shortstop was hit in the elbow by a Walker Buehler changeup in the second inning of New York’s 9-6 win over Boston, and Volpe stayed in the game until the top of the fourth.  Volpe is day-to-day for now and may be able to avoid an IL stint if the swelling and discomfort lessens in short order.

Marcus Stroman Has Setback In Rehab From Knee Inflammation

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The Yankees have temporarily shut down Marcus Stroman after the right-hander reported continued knee soreness following a live batting practice session on Friday.  Manager Aaron Boone told the Associated Press and other media that Stroman felt some “discomfort” in his bothersome left knee, and despite “a lot of treatments on it and stuff, it just can’t kind of get over that final hump to really allow him to get to that next level on the mound.”

Monday will mark a full month since Stroman was placed on the 15-day injured list due to left knee inflammation, and Boone suggested that the injury existed well before the IL placement, contributing to Stroman’s 11.57 ERA over his first three starts of the season.  Stroman received a cortisone shot to deal with the swelling and scans didn’t reveal any structural damage, yet the knee still isn’t showing much progress all these weeks later.  Given this latest development, Boone didn’t have a timeline in place for when Stroman might resume throwing, let alone when the right-hander might be back in New York’s rotation.

After a month on the IL and still apparently weeks to go before returning, Stroman may already be out of time in terms of vesting his player option for the 2026 season.  Stroman’s two-year, $37MM deal from the 2023-24 offseason carried a vesting clause that would allow Stroman an $18MM player option for 2026 if he pitched at least 140 innings in 2025.

Stroman tossed 154 2/3 innings of 4.31 ERA ball last season, and his relative durability over his career made that 140-inning threshold seem like quite a reasonable possibility….that is, if he were still a starting pitcher.  The Yankees explored trading Stroman this past winter with an eye towards opening up payroll space, and because at the time, Stroman wasn’t projected as one of the team’s top five rotation candidates.  Stroman was quite blunt about his intent on remaining in the rotation, and as it turned out, Gerrit Cole’s Tommy John surgery and Luis Gil’s long-term lat strain suddenly opened up two spots in the starting five.

Max Fried has been arguably the best pitcher in baseball this season and Carlos Rodon has been solid, but Will Warren, Clarke Schmidt (who also started the season on the IL), and Carlos Carrasco (who was outrighted off the 40-man roster earlier this week) have all struggled to varying degrees.  Swingman Ryan Yarbrough got the start today and pitched well in the Yankees’ 12-2 rout of the Athletics, and Yarbrough might be the top candidate to step in for Carrasco as the fifth starter.

Gil started his throwing progression a couple of weeks ago, and is expected to be out until June or July.  Assuming Stroman is also back before Gil, that will give the Yankees some time to evaluate their rotation prior to the July 31 trade deadline, though it would seem like the club will surely be in the market for at least one more arm or two.

Yankees Place Marcus Stroman On 15-Day IL, Select Allan Winans

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TODAY: Stroman’s MRI revealed swelling but no structural damage, Boone told the New York Post’s Greg Joyce and other reporters.  Stroman received a cortisone shot to help deal with the inflammation.

APRIL 12: The Yankees announced that right-hander Marcus Stroman was placed on the 15-day injured list due to left knee inflammation.  Right-hander Allan Winans is taking Stroman’s spot on the active roster, after Winans’ contract was selected from Triple-A.

It has been a brutal start to the season for Stroman, who has an 11.57 ERA over three starts and 9 1/3 innings.  The lowest point came in the Yankees’ 9-1 loss to the Giants yesterday, as Stroman was charged with five earned runs over an abbreviated start that lasted only two-thirds of an inning.  Following the game, New York manager Aaron Boone said Stroman was dealing with some knee soreness and had undergone x-rays.

Since the issue is being described just as inflammation, it appears as though Stroman has avoided any type of structural damage, even if an IL stint is still necessary.  If the injury ends up being relatively minor and Stroman misses around the 15-day minimum, the absence could essentially act as an unofficial reset to his difficult year.

Missing any time at all could heavily impact Stroman’s contractual future, as he has a vesting option in his contract for the 2026 season.  Stroman is in the final guaranteed season of his two-year, $37MM deal with the Yankees, but he’ll lock in an $18MM player option for 2026 if he pitches at least 140 innings this year.  Stroman logged 154 2/3 innings in 2024, while posting a 4.31 ERA, 49.2% grounder rate, 8.9% walk rate, and a 16.7% strikeout rate that was well below his career norm.

Between this so-so production and up to two years of salary commitments on the way, the Yankees made Stroman available on the trade market last winter, but no takers were found.  New York also seemingly had a rotation surplus that made Stroman expendable, but the Yankees’ pitching depth was quickly reduced when Gerrit Cole (Tommy John surgery), Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt, and JT Brubaker were all lost to the IL.  Schmidt is expected back this coming week, but his return just as Stroman hits the injured list only adds to the Yankees’ difficulties in finding enough healthy arms to cover the rotation workload.

Winans was claimed off waivers from the Braves in January, and was then designated for assignment and outrighted off New York’s 40-man roster in February.  Winans has started all eight of his career MLB games (all with Atlanta in 2023-24) but seems much likelier to take on a long relief role in the Yankees’ bullpen.  Over 40 big league innings, Winans has an ungainly 7.20 ERA, but his minor league numbers are far more impressive.  The righty has a 3.20 ERA in 258 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level, perhaps hinting at some late breakout potential as he enters his age-29 season.

Giants Notes: Eldridge, Luciano, Villar, Rogers, Stroman

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The Giants announced a wave of cuts from camp this morning, with top prospect Bryce Eldridge and former top prospect Marco Luciano among the most notable names sent out to minor league camp. (Luciano is on the 40-man roster and was thus optioned, technically speaking; Eldridge was reassigned to minor league camp.) Right-hander Mason Black was also optioned to minor league camp.

Though some fans might’ve hoped the 20-year-old Eldridge would break camp this year, that was always an extreme long shot. The 2023 first-rounder has all of 17 games above A-ball under his belt: nine in Double-A (where he hit quite well) and eight in Triple-A (where he struggled in a small sample). Eldridge’s overall .289/.372/.513 slash across four minor league levels helped propel him to the No. 12 spot on Baseball America’s top-100 list and did nothing to dispel the notion that he’s San Francisco’s first baseman of the future. For now, however, he’ll open the season in the upper minors while veterans LaMonte Wade Jr. and Wilmer Flores platoon at first base.

Luciano’s path to the roster was similarly unlikely. The former shortstop is still learning the ropes in his new corner-outfield environs, and San Francisco’s outfield mix has little room to break in. Heliot Ramos will be in left field after a breakout 2024 season. Jung Hoo Lee will be back in center now that he’s recovered from last year’s shoulder surgery. Mike Yastrzemski is in right field for what will be his seventh straight season. With Luciano still adjusting to the outfield, it benefits him to be in a setting where he can play every day and further familiarize himself with the new position.

The starters for the Giants are largely set. Patrick Bailey is the primary catcher. Wade and Flores will split at first base. Tyler Fitzgerald moves from shortstop to second base in deference to free agent signee Willy Adames. Matt Chapman inked a six-year extension late last season. Ramos, Lee and Yastrzemski round out the outfield. There’s more competition for the bench spots, but one player who’s all but squeezed out barring injuries further up the depth chart is infielder David Villar.

Villar impressed with a .231/.331/.455 showing and nine homers in 181 plate appearances as a 25-year-old rookie back in 2022. He’s since hit .170/.243/.346 in the majors while turning in only slightly above-average offense in a hitter-friendly Triple-A setting. Villar is out of minor league options and has less defensive versatility than fellow infielders Casey Schmitt and Brett Wisely. Both Schmitt and Wisely have one minor league option remaining, and both can play shortstop. Villar has never played a professional inning at short.

As soon as Chapman and Adames were locked in on the left side of the infield, Villar looked to be an odd man out. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area wrote yesterday that for the former 11th-rounder, spring training this year is more about showcasing himself to 29 other clubs than earning a spot on the Giants’ roster.

Speculatively speaking, the front offices in Milwaukee and in the Bronx have been eyeing cost-effective third base options. Former Giants GM Scott Harris is now president of baseball operations in Detroit and has been looking for right-handed bats. His club just missed on Alex Bregman and lost one third base candidate (Matt Vierling) to a shoulder strain. Another, Jace Jung, has only 94 big league plate appearances and is out to a slow start this spring.

Villar is 28, out of minor league options and has a .200/.288/.400 slash in 358 big league plate appearances. There’s a chance he’d simply clear waivers and stick with the Giants as non-roster depth. But he’s a .268/.377/.511 hitter in three Triple-A seasons and can play both infield corners — in addition to more limited experience at second base. A club with a less-solidified infield mix could be interested in a small trade or waiver claim. It’ll be worth keeping an eye on how he performs for the remainder of the spring.

Shifting a bit away from the focus on what’s currently taking place in camp, Joel Sherman of the New York Post provides some context on earlier offseason trade talks between the Giants and Yankees. Per Sherman, the Yankees approached the Giants about a potential deal that would’ve sent righty Marcus Stroman to San Francisco in exchange for lefty Taylor Rogers. The Giants weren’t interested in that framework, it seems, preferring to move forward with a rotation including Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Justin Verlander, Jordan Hicks and one of Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong or Landen Roupp. (Harrison seems like the strong favorite.)

The Giants eventually traded Rogers and $6MM to the Reds, ducking out from half the money they still owed to the veteran lefty and adding minor league righty Braxton Roxby to their system in the process. The Yankees spent much of the offseason trying to move Stroman but now might be glad to have hung onto him; Luis Gil is dealing with a shoulder injury that’s thrust Stroman back into the rotation outlook in the Bronx.

Luis Gil To Be Shut Down For At Least Six Weeks Due To Lat Strain

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Yankees manager Aaron Boone informed reporters, including Greg Joyce of The New York Post, that right-hander Luis Gil has a high-grade lat strain. Gil will be shut down from throwing for at least six weeks. Even if he is declared healthy at that point, he would effectively have to restart his spring ramp-up period, so he’s likely out until late May or early June even in a best-case scenario.

It was reported last week that Gil had experienced some shoulder tightness during a bullpen session and would be going for an MRI. It seems that a significant strain was detected which will impact the start of his 2025 season. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com relayed over a minute of Boone’s comments, during which the skipper said there are still some further examinations to be done which could reveal more info but that the six-week no-throw is confirmed.

It’s obviously a frustrating development for both Gil and the Yankees. The young pitcher just won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2024. He tossed 151 2/3 innings over 29 starts, allowing 3.50 earned runs per nine. His 12.1% walk rate was on the high side but his 26.8% strikeout rate was quite strong.

That excellent season came on the heels of a lengthy injury absence. Gil had a brief major league debut in 2021 before Tommy John surgery wiped out most of his 2022 and 2023 seasons. He returned and posted his aforementioned excellent results last year but now his health is now going to be at the forefront again.

The Yankees will now have to adjust their rotation plans, though the good news is that the solution should be pretty simple. The Yanks made a massive $218MM investment in Max Fried this offseason, which seemed to give them a rotation surplus. The club had an on-paper group of Fried, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt and Gil. That seemingly left Marcus Stroman on the outside looking in and the club reportedly tried to find ways to trade Stroman and the remainder of his contract.

No deal came together, so Stroman reported to camp and has been getting stretched out as a starter. With Gil now set to be on the shelf for a significant time, Stroman should be able to step into a rotation spot without issue.

Perhaps the rotation will again be crowded a few months from now if Gil is able to get healthy, though it’s also possible that other injuries will change the situation between now and then. Though the Yanks are still slated to go into the season with a strong front five, the depth has been thinned out a bit this spring. In addition to losing Gil, prospect Chase Hampton required Tommy John surgery. JT Brubaker, who projected to be a long reliever in the bullpen, suffered three fractured ribs trying to evade a comebacker and has an uncertain timeline.

Behind the rotation of Cole, Fried, Rodón, Schmidt and Stroman, perhaps the out-of-options Yoendrys Gómez can make the Opening Day Roster in the long relief role. Will Warren and Brent Headrick are on the roster and have options, perhaps meaning they will be in the Triple-A rotation. Carlos Carrasco is in camp as some veteran non-roster depth.

Luis Gil To Undergo Shoulder MRI; JT Brubaker Suffers Rib Fractures

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Yankees right-hander Luis Gil felt some shoulder tightness during a bullpen session today and is heading for an MRI tomorrow. Manager Aaron Boone relayed the information to reporters, including Greg Joyce of the New York Post. Boone also revealed, per Joyce, that JT Brubaker broke three ribs trying to avoid a comebacker last week. No timeline was provided for Brubaker’s return.

At this point, there’s little information available on Gil and it can only be speculated what comes next. However, an MRI indicates that the club has at least some level of concern about the discomfort in his shoulder.

Any injury absence would obviously be unwelcome news for Gil and the Yankees. The righty missed most of 2022 and 2023 due to Tommy John surgery and the subsequent recovery period, but he returned with a big flourish in 2024. Despite the long layoff, Gil managed to take the ball 29 times and toss 151 2/3 innings for the Yankees last year, plus two more postseason starts. He finished the regular season with a 3.50 earned run average and 26.8% strikeout rate. The 12.1% walk rate was a little high but Gil worked around that enough to win American League Rookie of the Year honors.

Brubaker still hasn’t pitched for the Yankees. He was acquired from the Pirates going into 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He started a rehab assignment in June but then got held back by an oblique strain, which kept him on the IL through the end of the year. Prior to his surgery, he posted a 4.99 ERA in 315 2/3 innings over three seasons with the Bucs from 2020 to 2022.

It’s obviously not ideal for a club’s rotation mix to potentially lose two members but the good news is that the Yankee rotation will still be in strong position even if Gil and/or Brubaker need to miss some time. The Yanks have such a packed rotation that they have been trying to unload Marcus Stroman for weeks.

No deal has come together and Stroman is getting stretched out in spring, so he could easily step into a rotation spot alongside Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt. Brubaker’s injury, and Chase Hampton’s recent Tommy John surgery, will thin out the depth a bit but the club has other potential arms there.

MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently took a look at some notable out of options players coming into the 2025 season in a piece for Front Office subscribers, highlighting Yoendrys Gómez as one of them. Gómez didn’t seem to have a path to a roster spot as of a few hours ago but dual IL stints for Gil and Brubaker would obviously help him. The Yanks also have Will Warren and Brent Headrick on the 40-man roster. Veteran Carlos Carrasco is in camp as a non-roster invitee.

Ideally, Gil’s MRI will find nothing of note and he will be fine after a bit of rest. But even in the event something more significant is found, the Yanks seem well absorbed to put together a strong pitching staff in the short term, a strong demonstration of the “you can never have too much pitching” cliché.

Latest On Yankees, Marcus Stroman

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Feb. 14: Stroman reported to camp this morning. Both he and Boone have spoken with reporters about the right-hander’s arrival (all subsequent video links via SNY). Stroman, notably, when asked about the potential of pitching in the bullpen, decisively stated, “I’m a starter.” Asked whether that was a message to general manager Brian Cashman, Stroman said that was not the case but rather just a statement based on his track record and his offseason work to prepare himself to be available every fifth day.

Both Stroman and Boone pointed out the folly of assuming anything regarding the health of an entire rotation so early in camp, with Boone joking: “First of all, happy Valentine’s Day. It’s February 14. You’re getting way ahead of this. We’re building him up to be a starting pitcher. That’s so far out there. Obviously, we’ll address anything we have to when we get into certain situations, but right now the focus is on getting him ready.”

Boone added that he doesn’t envision the Yankees going to a six-man rotation but wouldn’t rule it out entirely. He noted that the Yankees have 10 to 11 pitchers who are preparing as starting pitchers this spring, adding: “Who knows how many of them you’re going to have to use right away?”

Feb. 13: The Yankees’ signing of Max Fried pushed Marcus Stroman out of the team’s rotation, effectively bumping him down to seventh starter. Even after sending Nestor Cortes to Milwaukee in the trade that netted closer Devin Williams, Stroman was sixth on the team’s depth chart. The Yankees have spent much of the offseason looking for a trade partner, but to no avail. Stroman is not only owed $18.5MM this coming season but would unlock an $18.5MM player option for the 2026 season if he pitches 140 innings in 2025.

The ongoing trade saga has created plenty of chatter about Stroman already this winter, but the opening of spring camps creates a bit more intrigue. Stroman hasn’t been with the team for the past two days of workouts. SNY’s Andy Martino reports that the 33-year-old did take his physical for the club already. Stroman isn’t holding out, per Martino, but rather is taking a few extra days, which is permissible under the collective bargaining agreement.

Manager Aaron Boone downplayed the issue, stating that he and Stroman had a “very good” conversation and that the right-hander is in a good spot (video links via SNY). Stroman isn’t missing any mandatory dates; even though pitchers and catchers technically began reporting this week, the CBA stipulates that Feb. 22 is the mandatory report date. Workouts and practices thus far have technically been optional/voluntary. Boone was asked today if Stroman’s absence from camp was in any way disappointing.

“Obviously I want all of our players here, clearly,” said Boone. “That said, I’m comfortable with where he’s at physically and mentally. He’s a prideful player. This is a guy that’s had a great career. It’s a little bit of an awkward situation, obviously. So, of course I want him here. I’m trying to keep nudging him to get him here, but again, you also have to respect the fact that this is something that players are allowed to do. There’s a mandatory [report] date.”

It’s possible Yankees general manager Brian Cashman could find a trade partner in the coming days, but it’s likelier that Stroman will simply report to camp and begin progressing through his standard spring schedule. As camp progresses, injuries with the Yankees or with a potential trade partner could change the veteran Stroman’s current situation. Were it not for the ongoing trade efforts and a free agent signing that bumped him from the team’s rotation plans, the optics of him missing an extra couple days early in camp wouldn’t be as notable.

Stroman signed a two-year, $37MM deal in the Bronx last winter. He got out to an excellent start in pinstripes, pitching to a 2.60 ERA through his first dozen starts. He hit a cold spell in June, and while Stroman had a couple more pockets of strong outings, his overall ERA from June 1 onward checked in at 5.70. He finished the season with a 4.31 ERA in 154 2/3 frames. A disproportionate amount of the damage versus Stroman came at home and against left-handed batters. Stroman held righties to a .260/.327/.391 slash and logged a 3.09 earned run average on the road. Lefties torched him for a .296/.372/.474 slash, however, and he was rocked for a 5.31 ERA at Yankee Stadium, where he allowed 15 of his 19 home runs on the season.

Poll: Will The Yankees Be Able To Trade Marcus Stroman?

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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:

Yankees Willing To Pay Down Salary In Marcus Stroman Trade

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Marcus Stroman entered the offseason as a logical trade candidate and became an even more likely player to change hands when the Yankees signed Max Fried to an eight-year contract. Recent reports have unsurprisingly indicated that New York is indeed shopping Stroman, but Jon Heyman of the New York Post adds further context, writing that the Yanks are willing to pay down a portion of Stroman’s $18MM salary to help facilitate a deal.

With Gerrit Cole, Fried, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and 2024 AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil in the rotation, Stroman is very arguably their sixth-best rotation arm right now. That’s not optimal for a player who’s not only guaranteed $18MM this coming season but who also carries a conditional player option for the 2026 campaign. If Stroman pitches 140 innings in 2025 — he’s averaged more than 150 frames per 162-game season dating back to 2019 — he’d pick up an $18MM player option for 2026 as well. That only creates extra urgency for the Yankees to move him, as the five names ahead of Stroman on the depth chart are all signed/controlled beyond the 2025 season.

The Yankees already traded one starter after signing Fried (Nestor Cortes), and they’re in the market for either a second baseman or third baseman. They’re reportedly not working with the limitless budget some might expect from the “Evil Empire,” so shedding Stroman’s salary — or a portion of the deal — would give GM Brian Cashman some additional funds in his pursuit of infield help.

The Braves, A’s and Angels are just a few of the teams still seeking rotation help this offseason. Stroman might be New York’s fifth- or sixth-best starter right now, but that’s not the case with many other potential suitors. Stroman is coming off a decent 4.31 ERA in 154 2/3 innings in his first (and possibly only) season with the Yankees. He was hit hard by lefties, in particular, which didn’t play well with Yankee Stadium’s short right field porch; Stroman logged a 5.31 ERA at home compared to a 3.09 mark on the road. A team with a more favorable pitchers’ stadium might view him as a good bet to provide average or better innings at a low cost of acquisition. And in a market where 37-year-old Alex Cobb and 41-year-old Charlie Morton are commanding $15MM salaries on one-year deals — Cobb on the back of a season wherein he made only three starts — Stroman’s salary isn’t exactly egregious.

The Yankees’ willingness to pay down some of Stroman’s salary also inherently signals a willingness to take on a contract of some note in return. That creates a myriad potential frameworks; New York has some interest in Luis Arraez, for instance. He has more trade value than Stroman, but the comparable salaries could make the financial component easy to work out if the Yankees are willing to add the right pieces. Conversely, the Reds would probably welcome the opportunity to shed the $15MM owed to Jeimer Candelario in each of the next two seasons. The Tigers can’t love the $10MM they still owe Kenta Maeda, and he has more experience working in the ’pen than Stroman. Those are entirely speculative scenarios, to be extra clear, but they’re they type of creative situations Cashman and his team can explore when trying to find a Stroman fit.

As things stand, Stroman feels like one of the likeliest players around the league to change hands between now and Opening Day. He’s a pricey veteran without a clear role on his current club but is still relatively productive and not egregiously overpriced when looking at the rest of the market. His current club also has other obvious needs and some degree of financial parameters within which is has to operate.

The Yankees are currently at a projected $303MM worth of luxury tax obligations, per RosterResource. Any subsequent additions to the payroll will come with a 110% tax. Shedding Stroman’s deal would drop them beneath the fourth (and highest) threshold, which sits at $301MM. The third penalty tier (from $281-301MM) comes with a slightly lesser 95% tax rate. In essence, every dollar they save on Stroman’s contract will amount to about $1.95 saved. That only creates more benefit to finding a fit on the trade market.

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