Are the Yankees talking themselves into Marcus Stroman as desperation grows?
If the Yankees really cared about culture or clubhouse tenor, then there would not have been a first season of Josh Donaldson, much less a second.
They would not have signed Carlos Rodon, who somehow in mocking fans and publicly disrespecting his pitching coach managed to be as bad when he wasn’t pitching as when he was to a 6.85 ERA.
They would not have traded for Alex Verdugo, who in his first public act as a Yankee during a teleconference with reporters took a not subtle knock at his former manager in Boston, Alex Cora, by mentioning that he expects his new manager, Aaron Boone, to have his back “instead of airing people out.” Left out was that Cora did not pull Verdugo from one game and bench him for another last year due to having a bad hair day, but rather due to Verdugo’s lack of hustle on the bases and continued problems with showing up late.
Perhaps as a welcoming gift, the Yankees can give Mr. Verdugo a mirror.
So to learn that the Yankees are at least considering Marcus Stroman, who — among other items — belittled Brian Cashman on social media after the general manager did not trade for the righty in 2019 and said it was because he did not see Stroman in the postseason rotation.
But Stroman has gone from a “no way” possibility for the Yankees this offseason to at least in play because when this organization wants someone and/or is desperate, it will look the other way or ask Rougned Odor or Nick Swisher their opinion or pretty much create the scenario necessary to ignore the mirage of a Yankee Way.
And, boy, are these Yankees desperate.
Their trade for Juan Soto only made sense as part of a 1-2 in which they also significantly upgraded their rotation — a need accentuated, in part, because Rodon was so much closer to a No. 1 problem than a No. 2 starter last season.
To get Soto, the Yankees had to chip away further at their organizational pitching depth — a constant in the last few years. In this case, one piece surrendered was Michael King, who in terms of repertoire and temperament would have begun the 2024 season as the No. 2 starter to Gerrit Cole. There would have been real questions about whether King had the durability for a full season of starts — but not more so than Rodon and Nestor Cortes.
