Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

Marcus Stroman, Blue Jays at odds over state of contract offer

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 2/17/19

Have the Toronto Blue Jays made any effort to keep pitcher Marcus Stroman for the long term? One side says yes, the other says no.

On Sunday morning, Stroman publicly vented that he’d been offered “nothing” by the Blue Jays despite his desire to stay with the team and his love for the city.

Stroman: "I've been waiting to sign a long-term deal, I've been offered nothing. There's no one that embodies the city of Toronto more than me and you're not going to find guys who come in and want to embody the city of Toronto because it's just not natural… (cont.) #BlueJays

— Gregor Chisholm (@gregorMLB) February 17, 2019

… I've taken a liking to that myself. That has been organic and natural. It's not something I had to do. It's something I wanted to do. Like I said, I've always wanted to be here." #BlueJays

— Gregor Chisholm (@gregorMLB) February 17, 2019

Stroman’s comments, especially unprompted, are quite interesting. He clearly wants to stay in Toronto, and he clearly believes he’s a huge part of the team.

The Blue Jays, however, quietly refuted a large part of his comments, with sources telling the Toronto Sun’s Rob Longley that Stroman had, in fact, received such an offer.

#Bluejays sources dispute Stroman's comments that he hasn't been offered a long-term deal with the team.

— Rob Longley (@longleysunsport) February 17, 2019

Stroman was floated in trade talks earlier on the offseason, but nothing came of it. He’s coming off the worst season of his young career, in which he posted a 5.54 ERA in 19 starts.

It’s entirely possible that Stroman received a contract offer that he simply deemed not good enough and left that part out, but what’s clear is that the two sides are simply not on the same page at the moment.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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