Marcus Stroman sounds more offended by Yankees trade rumors than Aaron Boone thinks he is

From pretty much the beginning of the offseason — heck, from pretty much the moment the team mothballed him for its World Series run last October — it's been clear to anyone with eyes that the New York Yankees wanted to trade Marcus Stroman. The righty slumped through a pretty dismal regular season in 2024, pitching to a 4.31 ERA and 4.62 FIP, and New York understandably wasn't thrilled at the prospect of paying him $18.5 million for his age-34 season. That became even more obvious at the Winter Meetings, when Brian Cashman threw a metric ton of money at lefty Max Fried — thereby bumping Stroman from the team's starting five.

And yet, despite months of trying, Stroman remains in pinstripes; shockingly enough, Cashman has had a hard time finding a buyer for an expensive and declining pitcher, especially with so many veterans still available for cheap in free agency. All of which has created a bit of a conundrum as the Yankees report to spring training this week: How do you welcome back a player that you've made no secret about wanting to get rid of?

Manager Aaron Boone spent his first media availability of the spring insisting that it was a non-issue, admitting that the situation had the potential to be "awkward" but adding that "we're in a good spot". It seems like Stroman's read on things, however, is much different.

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Marcus Stroman sure doesn't seem happy with current Yankees role

Yankees pitchers and catchers were scheduled to report to the team's Tampa complex by Wednesday. Stroman showed up for a physical on Tuesday — the day he allegedly chatted with Boone — but since then has been more or less AWOL. The righty hasn't taken part in any team activities over the first two days of camp, and the team isn't sure when that might change, according to Newsday's Erik Boland.

Maybe this is all just a big misunderstanding; maybe Stroman is still finishing up his own winter workout, or has a personal reason to be away from the team for a couple of days. He doesn't have to be there until the start of full team workouts on Saturday, Feb. 22, and it's technically possible that he'll show up by then ready to be a good citizen.

The alternative sure seems more likely right now, though. And really, can you blame him? The Yankees have good reason to want to get off of Stroman's contract, but they're also the ones responsible for handing him that contract in the first place, and Stroman would be well within his rights to not be thrilled about showing up for work at a place where he's actively not wanted. If New York thought they could just grin and bear it if a suitable trade offer didn't materialize, they should think again — and maybe start lowering their asking price.