That ticking sound is Yankees’ Marcus Stroman about to blow up, hosts say
Given Marcus Stroman’s past attacks on the Yankees — and just about everyone else in the world who doesn’t think he’s the next Bob Gibson — there had to have been a chat with the bomb-throwing right-hander before the Yankees offered him a spot in their rotation.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that “the Yankees had no serious interest in Stroman until GM Brian Cashman privately met with Stroman in Tampa this past week and became convinced that he’d be a good fit. It should be the last big move the Yankees make the rest of the winter with their payroll projected to exceed $300 million,” he wrote.
Stroman is guaranteed $37 million over two years, and that can turn into $55 million over three years if he pitches 140 innings in 2025.
Cashman doesn’t have a great record on bringing disliked players to New York and getting fans to fall in love — see Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson, for starters — but he’s determined to shove Stroman down their throats — and WFAN hosts are getting out front, so there’s no second-guessing if the guy self-destructs.
Here they are, getting on the record
Sal Licata: “I always thought they unfairly were harsh on him when he got here…I always felt like he was vilified unjustly by Met fans,” Sal said. “Met fans never really loved Stroman. Then the fighting on Twitter, all that stuff. Now, he goes to the Yankees, talked about how he always wanted to go to the Yankees, loved the Yankees. And he’s already taken parting shots at the Mets since he moved on. …
