Marcus Stroman contract details, grade: Yankees add two-time All-Star to rotation

The New York Yankees addressed their need of outfielders by acquiring superstar Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres and Alex Verdugo from the rival Boston Red Sox. After those moves, the starting rotation was the other area that the team needed to address. With Gerrit Cole winning the Cy Young, the team needed reinforcements, especially with Carlos Rodon struggling and Nestor Cortes returning from injury. The Yankees missed out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and fans wondered where they would pivot to next to help the team have a better season than in 2023.

New York now has a new starting pitcher for their rotation, and it is a rather shocking name.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post was the first to report that the Yankees and former Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Marcus Stroman were making progress on a contract and that both sides expected to get a deal done. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Yankees and Stroman had agreed to terms on a two-year contract with an option for a third.

Marcus Stroman contract details and grade after signing with Yankees

Joel Sherman of the New York Post provided details of the contract. Over the two years, Stroman will be earning an average of $18.5 million per year, bringing the total to $37 million in that span. Sherman also reports that a third season would be a vesting option, which Stroman can earn if he pitches 140.0 innings in 2025. That would bring the total money of the contract to $55 million over three years.

If the Yankees wanted to make it back to the postseason after missing out on it last year, they needed to add more arms to their rotation. They did so in Stroman, and it is a bit of a surprising move due to their past.

Stroman was a trade deadline candidate to potentially land on the Yankees in 2019. However, the team passed and he ended up on the crosstown Mets. General manager Brian Cashman told Yahoo Sports that he didn't feel that Stroman would "a difference-maker" for them.

The pitcher held a grudge against Cashman and the Yankees, saying in a since-deleted tweet in 2021 that no pitcher they sign will be "in [his] league over the next 5-7 years" and poked fun at how the team was in a World Series drought despite their high payroll.

Last year, Stroman was having a true bounce-back campaign for the Cubs. Before the All-Star break, Stroman had a 2.96 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, 98 strikeouts and 41 walks in 112.2 innings. Those numbers helped propel Stroman to his second career All-Star nomination and was an NL Cy Young candidate. But in the second half of the season, Stroman was limited to just eight games due to rib cartilage fracture. In that span, Stroman recorded an 8.63 ERA, a 1.96 WHIP, 21 strikeouts, and 11 walks in 24.0 innings.

Overall, Stroman recorded a 3.95 ERA, a 10-9 win-loss record, a 1.26 WHIP, 119 strikeouts, and 52 walks in 136.2 innings (27 games (25 starts)).

While this isn't a move at the level of signing Yamamoto, this is a solid signing for the Yankees that could pay off. He's not expected to be the ace for the team, but can be a good middle-of-the-rotation pitcher for the Yankees.

Grade: B