Yankees must trade Marcus Stroman immediately after defiant comments

During the one week a year of almost unilateral good vibes across the baseball landscape, the New York Yankees have a problem.

Not a new problem, of course. One they allowed to fester all offseason after choosing a somewhat arbitrary target to represent their financial limitations. One they assured us was handled, but has most certainly not been handled. One that could throw their balance off kilter at a delicate time, when the entire team is still attempting to recover, as a group, from being exposed by the Dodgers last October. The Red Sox are welcoming Alex Bregman to camp while the Yankees are ushering in Marcus Stroman, who took three additional days after pitchers and catchers reported to collect his thoughts.

"I don't think there was a need for me to be here in the last few days, given the climate," Stroman told reporters on Friday, despite Aaron Boone previously claiming that the "awkward" dynamic had been dealt with as the Yankees worked diligently to get their right-hander in a good headspace. It did not work.

After having all offseason to stew and reflect, Stroman showed up "early" on Friday (his words), and was no more prepared to be a bullpen contributor than he was on the day Max Fried was signed.

Yankees must trade Marcus Stroman, who does not want to move to the bullpen

No matter what the Yankees intended to do after adding Fried/thickening their rotation (trading Stroman, trading Clarke Schmidt, trading Luis Gil), they didn't manage to cross the finish line. That has left them with a surplus, and the currently left-out player is angered by that to the point of making things contentious. Money is no longer an issue here; if the Yankees intend to carry Stroman and his full $18 million, as it stands, they should be completely comfortable jettisoning the entire $18 million, with no financial relief.

This situation has officially reached the level of "dire".

To be clear, we don't blame Stroman whatsoever here. The Yankees signed him to be a starting pitcher. They agreed on moving forward with the fit. They agreed on the financial figures. Stroman started off 2024 strong, then dipped (and struggled at home, with a 5.31 ERA). After the season, the Yankees decided it was no longer a fit, but forgot to move on from the player.

It takes two to tango. Stroman could be valuable depth on this team, but he doesn't want to be. So why would the Yankees force something so uncomfortable? Oh, right. The money they agreed to pay him.

It was fun to entertain the idea of Stroman somehow remaining on the sidelines at first, but reentering the rotation picture at the first sign of trouble and stabilizing things for a month or two. But if he's not in a place where he feels respected (understandable, because he wasn't), then it makes more sense to pay him to leave than to pay him to stay. The Yankees have to swallow their pride now and resolve an issue of their own making in unpleasant fashion.