It sure sounds like Brian Cashman has played the Marcus Stroman situation all wrong

After the New York Yankees were able to sign Max Fried this offseason, Aaron Boone’s starting rotation became complete. In fact, the Yankees currently have more starting pitchers than they know what to do with. 

With Fried on board, the obvious plan was to move veteran starter Marcus Stroman via trade to unload his salary and create more payroll space to upgrade at other positions. But instead of being aggressive earlier in the winter, Brian Cashman chose to play the waiting game. And now, as Spring Training approaches, the Yankees could be getting ready to be punished for this mistake.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work onThe Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB offseason.

Yankees might be left with no way out of Marcus Stroman debacle

Stroman is coming off a year where he made 29 starts for the Yankees, going 10-9 with a 4.31 ERA. Entering his 11th season in the big leagues, it is pretty clear that Stroman’s prime is in the rear view mirror; even if he manages to stay healthy for a full season, he's strictly an innings-eater at this point in his career.

Knowing that Stroman is no longer the All-Star he once was, no one has been willing to acquire him because of the $18.3 million he is owed in 2025. The obvious solution seemed to be trading Stroman to the St. Louis Cardinals, but neither team would really benefit from that deal financially. At the end of the day, dollar signs are driving decisions regarding Stroman. 

Cashman’s thought process behind waiting until late into the offseason before pulling the trigger on a Stroman deal was likely that someone would get desperate enough for starting pitching. But this plan has failed miserably: While there are really no frontline starters left on the free agent market, any team that is looking for depth within their rotation has several options. Veterans like Kyle Gibson, James Paxton and Nick Pivetta are really good fits for teams that need another arm, and all of them can be had for far cheaper.

It will be interesting to see how things unfold before Spring Training starts. There is still always the chance that the Yankees are able to deal Stroman if they lower their expectations or eat some of his salary, but we may be looking at a situation where they eventually just release him and buy out his contract to make room for others additions.