Only the Yankees would sink so low to blame a specific player for lack of recent spending

New York Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman was the club’s marquee free-agency addition last January, when he signed a two-year, $37 million contract. Just one year later, he’s become a free-agency burden.

The hope was that Stroman would bolster the pitching arsenal and provide stability behind ace Gerrit Cole. Instead, the 33-year-old struggled through the second half of the regular season. His performance declined after the start of June, and he posted a 5.70 ERA through the remainder of the season.

By the time the MLB Playoffs began, Stroman had gone from the bullpen to the doghouse. Yankees manager Aaron Boone opted to go with an 11-man pitching staff for the American League Division Series and excluded Stroman from the roster.

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Marcus Stroman’s contract blamed for holding the Yankees hostage

The Yankees still have roster deficiencies to address before spring training, but the club hasn’t signed any player to a major league contract this month. The lack of activity is largely due to Stroman’s contract, per Greg Joyce of the New York Post. 

The Yankees need to find an infielder and a left-handed reliever, but Stroman’s contract is holding the club hostage. New York is currently hovering just above the highest luxury threshold of $301 million, and Stroman is poised to earn $18.5 million in 2025. More notably, his contract includes an $18 million vesting option for the 2026 season that will trigger automatically if he pitches 140 innings.

Along with retaining Cole, New York bolstered their pitching by signing two-time All-Star pitcher Max Fried, who will join a rotation that includes Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil, and Clarke Schmidt. Stroman is currently projected to be the club’s sixth starter, but his hefty price tag makes it difficult to justify retaining him at the expense of addressing glaring needs. Finding a trade partner is easier said than done, however, especially after his poor performance in the latter half of the season. 

Over the entirety of the season, Stroman pitched to a 4.31 ERA and a 95 ERA+ with 113 strikeouts and 60 unintentional walks in 154 ⅔ innings across 29 starts and one relief appearance. Over his final 14 outings (13 starts), he pitched to a 5.97 ERA. Batters hit .341 with a .867 OPS in that span.