5 starting pitchers the Padres could acquire before Opening Day
2. Marcus Stroman, Toronto Blue Jays
Stroman finished eighth in the American League Cy Young voting in 2017, as he went 13-9 with a 3.09 ERA (7.8 K/9, 2.3 BB/9) over 201 innings (33 starts)and also picked up a Gold Glove. But injuries limited him to 19 starts last year, and the surface results weren’t nearly as good (5.54 ERA, 6.8 K/9). That said, his FIP (3.91) was essentially the same as 2017 (3.90).
In his second year of arbitration eligibility, Stroman agreed to a one-year, $7.4 million deal with Toronto for the coming season. But upon arriving in Dunedin, Florida for spring training, he expressed disappointment he hasn’t been offered a long-term deal yet.
"I want to play here. I’ve been wanting to play here for a long time. 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 want to come in and embody the city of Toronto because it’s just not natural, and I’ve taken a liking to that myself, and that’s been organic and natural, it’s not something I had to do. That’s something I wanted to do. I’ve always wanted to be here."
From Toronto’s end, there doesn’t have to be a lot of urgency to extend Stroman. They have one more year of team control, and they surely want to see he can rebound back to his 2017 form this year before committing long-term.
But trade rumors around Stroman date back to last year’s trade deadline. Back in December, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported the Padres were in ongoing talks with the Blue Jays about a deal for the right-hander. With Stroman’s recent comments as the jumping off point, adding “it’s business, man” when asked to describe his relationship with the Toronto front office, those trade discussions could be revisited from either side in short order.
Stroman fits the profile the Padres appear to be narrowing on as they look to add as starter. He’s fairly young (27; 28 on May 1) but experienced, with another year of team control before he becomes a free agent. Moving to a pitcher-friendly home park, and to a division with more pitcher-friendly parks in general, would surely help Stroman. But then again, his ground ball-heavy profile (60-plus percent ground ball rate each of the last three seasons) plays well anywhere.