No, the Yankees won't be trading for Cubs' Marcus Stroman!

It seems the folks at Sports Illustrated have no idea about the whole ordeal between the New York Yankees and Marcus Stroman, because both their Cubs and Yankees fan sites seem to think the right-hander would be a plausible trade candidate for the Bombers this year.

Even if Stroman was a desired target, the Yankees very rarely inherit big money salaries in-season, at least in recent history. Stroman is making $25 million this year and has a $21 million player option for 2024. That is of zero interest to Brian Cashman, who just signed Carlos Rodón to a $162 million contract and is watching him sit out with an injury.

Right off the bat, this couldn't be a worse effort to identify the types of players the Yankees actually look for when seeking midsummer upgrades.

And then it becomes even more egregious when you learn of the very public spat between the two parties dating back to 2019.

That year, the Yankees needed pitching at the deadline. JA Happ was terrible. CC Sabathia was aging. Luis Severino was injured. Eventually, Domingo Germán would be suspended. That left New York with Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton as their top two, which certainly wasn't enough to take down a team like the Astros.

Yankees Trade Deadline Targets: Not Marcus Stroman!

Cashman ended up acquiring nobody to help the rotation. Then, in September, he was asked why the team didn't more aggressively pursue Toronto Blue Jays ace Marcus Stroman, who landed with the Mets that year.

In the end, this could've have yielded a more ridiculous discourse. Cashman was refusing to trade Clint Frazier, who the Blue Jays reportedly wanted back in return for Stroman. Frazier's been irrelevant since the start of the 2021 season.

And secondly, Cashman told reporters that Stroman, who owned a 2.96 ERA through 21 starts before being moved to Queens, would've been in the Yankees bullpen come playoff time. He specifically said the right-hander wouldn't have been a "difference-maker" for the Yankees.

Stroman, an outspoken individual, didn't take kindly to Cashman's unwarranted and incorrect jab. So he ripped the Yankees. Multiple times. On social media and when speaking to reporters. He claimed he always wanted to be a Met, not a Yankee. He said no current Yankees pitcher at that time would be "anywhere in my league over the next 5-7 years." Little did he know, Nestor Cortes and his 5.67 ERA would give him a run for his money.

Who in the right mind thinks the Yankees would ever entertain this after what Cashman did and how Stroman responded?

And lastly, Stroman is not a Yankee -- based on the organization's unofficial definition of a Yankee. Stroman is loud. Stroman is controversial. Stroman is a flamboyant trash talker. Stroman's behavior very rarely makes topics of discussion less magnified. The Yankees, as we know them, work hard to repel that type of personality and energy. In fact, it was surprising how long they entertained Frazier in the Bronx (let alone Germán and Aroldis Chapman).

Just because the Cubs are in the basement of the NL and the Yankees need a pitcher doesn't automatically reveal a link between the two parties. If New York was unwilling to add him in 2019 when he was under team control and in the Cy Young discussion, why would they add him now when he's four years older and four times the price?