Marcus Stroman injury history: Every time Yankees' hurler suffered setbacks

Welcome to the complete injury history of New York Yankees right-hander Marcus Stroman! How much time do you have? Enjoy this "Lord of the Rings"-length time!

The Yankees have a lot riding on Stroman's health this season. The right-hander was counted on to be a sturdy, quality-start-adjacent factory after Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, and Clarke Schmidt all went down in spring training. He certainly seemed less than that in early April, hitting the IL with knee inflammation on April 12.

If he returns, he'll be counted on every fifth day (for the remainder of the first half, at least). If he reaches 140 innings this season, his option for 2026 will suddenly be looming, following what has been (to this point) a disappointing Yankees tenure.

How long has Stroman's health been a question mark, and when did he begin to break down?

*Note*: This will not include a long section describing Stroman's 50-game suspension in the minor leagues in 2012, owing to a positive test for the banned stimulant Methylhexanamine, but the moment certainly merits a mention. Stroman claimed to have taken the stimulant by accident as an ingredient in an over-the-counter medication.

Yankees' Marcus Stroman Injury History: Will he cross 140-inning threshold to earn full contract details in 2025?

2015: Torn ACL in Left Knee

Stroman suffered this unfortunate injury in spring training prior to his sophomore season in MLB. He made a full recovery, returning to action for the Blue Jays on Sept. 12 (ironically against the Yankees) and eventually pitching in the postseason during Toronto's ALCS run. During his time away from the game, he completed his degree at Duke University.

Stroman largely escaped the next two seasons healthy, though a blister and a line drive off the elbow at two separate points put his health in jeopardy in 2017. He didn't miss a start in either case.

2018: Shoulder Fatigue

In a sequence that mimics the way his start to 2025 unfolded, Stroman began the 2018 campaign remarkably ineffectively (0-5, 7.71) before doctors decided that something must be disturbing him. He was placed on the shelf with shoulder fatigue on May 11, then returned just over one month later.

Blisters forced him, once again, from a handful of starts later in the year, and even ended a disappointing season in Toronto prematurely.

2020: Torn Left Calf in a Season Unlike Any Other

Stroman initially was slated to miss the beginning of the 2020 season with a torn left calf muscle, rehabbing with the team that had helped him five years prior with his ACL recovery ... before the season vanished on him in a flash. When baseball was ready to resume in empty stadiums later that summer, the right-hander opted out.

2023: Series of Injuries End Final Season With Cubs Prematurely

Stroman made his second career All-Star team, dazzling opponents in the wind on the North Side in the first half. Unfortunately, he only completed 136 2/3 innings in the campaign, sitting out the All-Star Game before falling victim to both hip inflammation and a rib cage cartilage fracture (separate incidents!) in August. He returned in September, at which point the Cubs' season was essentially over.

That led to the offseason where Stroman found the Yankees, his childhood team, who were willing to make a two-year offer with the prospect of a third. In 2024, his sturdy first half and excellent May (1.67 ERA in six starts) led to him completing 154 2/3 innings pitched, his highest number since his rested-and-refreshed 2021 campaign with the Mets (33 starts/179 innings).

This year has begun very differently, with a bare-bones rotation desperately needing something that resembles those May 2024 highlights. Stroman's return from knee issues will be carefully watched in the coming weeks, by both the Yankees' front office and his rotation mates.