The New York Yankees made the signing of Marcus Stroman official on Wednesday, inking the two-time All-Star to a two-year deal that also includes a player option for the 2026 season.
The deal is worth $37 million in total, one that appears as though the starting pitcher did significant leg work.
Per multiple reports, Stroman approached the Yankees making it known that he wanted to sign with them during the earlier portions of January. However, New York did not appear all that interested as they reportedly declined to offer him a contract at first.
With the starting-pitching market in free agency thinning, however, with Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery headlining the remaining class, the Yankees’ pivot seemed necessary to bolster a rotation that has significant question marks looming over key pieces of the rotation in Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes.
The deal provides another homecoming of sorts for the 32-year-old right-hander, a Long Island native who spent parts of three seasons with the New York Mets from 2019-2021 after five-plus years with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Last season with the Chicago Cubs, he went 10-9 with a 3.90 ERA and 1.259 WHIP with 136.2 innings pitched — a season that was derailed by injuries. Stroman was one of the National League’s top pitchers through the first half of the season, going 10-6 with a 2.88 ERA across his first 20 starts before a hip injury resulted in three successive down outings, which featured 17 earned runs and ultimately sidelined him in late July.
During his recovery, he was diagnosed with a ribcage cartilage fracture in mid-August that held him out until Sept. 15. Across his last seven appearances of the season, which bookended his IL stint, he posted an 11.00 ERA.
When healthy, Stroman has proved that he’s worthy of being placed in the upper portions of a rotation. Since the start of the 2019 season, he owns a 3.38 ERA, providing a viable option to place behind reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, Gerrit Cole.
