MLB Rumors: Yankees-Marcus Stroman truth, Cubs fans unrest, Pirates whiff

MLB Rumors: Yankees-Marcus Stroman match is unlikely. What about a Jordan Montgomery reunion?

The New York Yankees fell short of landing Yoshinobu Yamamoto to address their need in the starting rotation. The thing is, Yamamoto chose to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers to team alongside Shohei Ohtani. Now, recent reporting indicates that the team will be aggressive in pursuing a starting pitcher this offseason.

There was some weird reporting in the past 24 hours. USA Today's Bob Nightengale reported on Sunday that former Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Marcus Stroman expressed interest in signing with the Yankees, but the team declined to make an offer. Then on Monday, Nightengale reported that there was "mutual interest" between the Yankees and Stroman.

During the latest episode of The Baseball Insiders podcast, FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray discussed the reporting of a Yankees-Stroman match. Murray says he doesn't think "there's anything going on there," between Stroman and New York.

"Because that reporting was really strange," said Murray. "The report that the Yankees weren't interested in Stroman, that part I buy, especially considering how much he ended up bashing them in the past. I couldn't see the Yankees going down that direction. All of a sudden there's reports today they have mutual interest, that did not pass the smell test. I checked and I would be really, really, really surprised if Stroman ended up going to the Yankees."

Stroman has publicly criticized the Yankees in recent years after the team failed to trade for him at the trade deadline in 2019. Instead, Stroman ended up on the Mets and would remain with the team until the conclusion of the 2021 season.

One other name the Yankees have been linked to is their former starter, Jordan Montgomery. Back in 2022, the team traded away Montgomery to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for outfielder Harrison Bader, who was injured at the time. The reasoning for the move was that Bader could fill a need in center field, while the team had no plans to start Montgomery in the bullpen. Now, he is one of the best starters available after helping the Texas Rangers win the World Series.

Murray said that while there is interest with the Yankees and Montgomery, he thinks it's more likely the starting pitcher returns to the Rangers.

"I know I said on one of the last podcasts that I had a really hard time seeing Montgomery going to the Yankees, they're interested," said Murray. "That's more than I said before, I'll wear that, I was wrong. But do I think it's likely? No. I think a Texas return makes a whole lot of sense there."

The Yankees are linked to nearly every available starting pitcher, including Blake Snell. But will they actually make a move for one of them? That remains to be seen.