Blue Jays and Marcus Stroman are not on same page over his future
The blister problem that has haunted Marcus Stroman reared up again on Monday, and now he and Toronto Blue Jays management disagree on whether we will play again this year.
The Toronto Blue Jays have been here before. A young starting pitcher, unable to get past a blister problem on their pitching hand.
Last year it was Aaron Sanchez bothered by blisters. Now it’s Marcus Stroman, and the team and player are unsure where they go from here.
Stroman made his first start since Aug. 17 on Monday, but left after just 1 2/3 innings after giving up four runs on six hits against Tampa Bay. The rough start upped his ERA on the season to a career-worst 5.54. The blisters continued to bother him, as Stroman looked unable get a feel for his pitches.
“Very frustrating, I mean there’s no other way to put it,” he said after the game, according to MLB.com. “I know when my finger is good and my shoulder is good, I know what I’m capable to doing out there. It’s just a matter of getting it to that point, and I know I’ll get it there in the offseason.”
The blister issue is the second injury Stroman has had to deal with this season. Shoulder inflammation caused him to miss six weeks in May and June. When he went on the DL the first time on May 8 he had a 7.71 ERA, but improved to 3.84 in 11 starts since.
The Blue Jays believe the best thing for Stroman is to go on the DL again, effectively ending his season. Just don’t tell him that. Stroman is determined to overcome the blisters and pitch again this season.
“I always pride myself on battling. I love being out there every fifth day competing and this is kind of hindering that,” he said. “Last thing I want to do is to shut it down, regardless of how many games we have left or regardless of what the games mean. I pride myself on going out there with my team every fifth day and competing with my brothers, so I don’t want to not be out there.
Manager John Gibbons, however, says Monday’s game will likely be Stroman’s last in 2018. “That’s probably what’s going to happen. I would recommend that, to be honest with you.”
“There’s no doubt it’s still bothering him,” Gibbons said of Stroman’s blister problems. “I think more than anything it’s the grip and the feel of things. So we’ll see. I don’t know where we’ll end up with that.”
Stroman has already been ruled out for his next scheduled start on Sunday against the Cleveland Indians.
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The disagreement between Stroman and team management about his future this season is just the latest in what has become a tumultuous relationship. It began with an arbitration case in February that left bad feelings for both sides, then in July came reports the Jays were in talks to trade him to Atlanta. While those rumors came to nothing, the blisters threaten to make the relationship reach it’s breaking point.
It’s been a frustrating year not just for Stroman, but for the entire team has well. The Blue Jays (62-76) are in fourth place in the AL East and 33 games out of first coming into play on Wednesday. They have 24 games left as they play out the string on a lost year.
Whether Stroman makes another appearance in any of those games, however, remains to be seen.