Marcus Stroman has reportedly informed the Yankees he’s interested in signing with them

The right-handed pitcher may not be on the same level as some remaining free agents such as Blake Snell, or nearly as good as Aaron Nola, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, or Shohei Ohtani. However, he’s still a good pitcher and one of the best hurlers remaining on the market.

New York is said to be looking to add starting pitching, as they were heavily in on Yamamoto before he signed with the Dodgers. Moreover, they appear to still be in on the only ace still remaining in free agency, Blake Snell, who also reportedly said he had an interest in the pinstriped team.

Stroman had a player option worth $21 million in 2024, which he declined to become a free agent. It’s to be seen whether or not that turns out to be a mistake, but the fact a team that’s thought to be in contention has little interest in Stroman doesn’t bode well for his free agency.

Last season, Stroman had a 3.95 ERA and a 3.58 FIP in 136.2 innings pitched, with the ERA being the worst since the 2018 season. Stroman’s career numbers are at worst, a mid-rotation starter as he has a career 3.65 ERA and a 3.63 FIP in 1303.2 innings pitched, along with a 20.1 K%, a 6.9 BB%, and a 56.7 ground ball%.

Stroman was drafted by the Blue Jays with the 22nd overall pick in 2012 and made his debut with Canada’s only team in 2014. He spent parts of six seasons with the Jays, posting a 3.76 ERA and a 3.60 FIP in 789.2 innings pitched, making 127 starts in 133 games played. In 2019, he was named as the Blue Jays All-Star representative, a game which he would return to in 2023.

At the 2019 deadline, Stroman was traded to the New York Mets for future Cubs teammate Anthony Kay, as well as Simeon Woods Richardson. The latter was traded just two seasons later for José Berríos, who has similar numbers to Stroman if you remove his abysmal rookie season.

It’ll be interesting to see where Stroman ends up, but with the Yankees not being interested and the Jays having a less-than-pleasant relationship with their former player, it looks like he may land outside the American League East.