MLB insider paints a toxic picture for why Yankees signed Stroman: "Desperation plus desperation"

On Thursday night, the New York Yankees wound up inking Marcus Stroman to a two-year, $37 million contract that more or less fills out their rotation to kick off the season. While the Yankees could absolutely stand to gain from another big starting pitcher signing, don't expect it.

The signing defied odds to some degree. Stroman seemed to get shut down by New York. Then he wasn't. Old Tweets of Stroman dissing the Yankees were mocked. Yet, here we are, with Stroman set to don pinstripes shortly.

The signing, ultimately, gained lukewarm reactions. It's a good move, to be sure. Stroman was an All-Star last year and for a short while was even on the bubble of the National League Cy Young conversation. As he's aged, his pitching has remained good and he brings a great energy and excitement to whatever team he's on, with an undying and notable sense of loyalty for his team and teammates.

MLB insider suggests this was a "might as well" move for both sides

But of course, the Yankees missed out on key available pieces. Blake Snell is out of their price range, evidently. Jordan Montgomery remembers that the Yankees traded him and has little interest in a return. Yoshinobu Yamamoto decided to play with Shohei Ohtani instead of coming to the Yankees.

Meanwhile, Stroman would not have picked the Yankees first either. He lobbied the Cubs for an extension all last year and didn't get one. Surely, he'd have liked to have signed to a team a long time ago.

That's why the New York Post's Joel Sherman described this as "desperation meets desperation."

Neither party pursued one another. Neither party ever seemed overly interested in the other. But Stroman needed a home, and the Yankees needed a pitcher. So... sure, I guess.

To be clear, it is not a requirement for player and team to be excited about one another for this to work out. Perhaps these two years work out great for Stro and he continues to pitch at the high level he's brought the last few years.

But ultimately, as Sherman points out, just two desperate parties hoping to tie up loose ends before the season starts.