Nearly two months later, the Marcus Stroman trade repercussions are still hitting MLB.
And some what-ifs are still as intriguing as the deal itself.
In an interview with Yahoo Sports’ Wallace Matthews, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman revisited the failed negotiations for the starter with the Toronto Blue Jays, and didn’t seem convinced he would have tipped the scales in the playoffs.
“We were interested in Stroman but we didn’t think he would be a difference maker,” Cashman told Matthews. “We felt he would be in our bullpen in the post-season.”
The Blue Jays reportedly asked for young outfielder Clint Frazier as part of the return package, which played a major factor in the Yankees’ refusal to go through with the deal.
A rotation consisting of Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, J.A. Happ and Luis Severino would justify an idea to move someone like Stroman to the bullpen — where he would have joined stars like Adam Ottavino, Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman.
Stroman, of course, didn’t get his apparent wish of getting traded to the Bronx, and instead ended up getting shipped off to the New York Mets for pitching prospects Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson.
[snippet id=4722869]
Stroman responded to Cashman’s comments with a tweet comparing his stats to those of Yankees starters.
Straight cash homie. #HDMH pic.twitter.com/Lof6HWaZk6
— Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo6) September 24, 2019
With less than a week left in the regular season, the Yankees and their 102-win record are headed to the post-season without solid right-hander Domingo German, who was barred from playing in October as he faces domestic-violence accusations. Youngster Jordan Montgomery, recently back from Tommy John surgery, is also expected to miss the playoffs.
New York announced last week that veterans Happ and CC Sabathia will pitch out of the bullpen for the rest of the regular season.
Cashman also weighed in on another negotiation with the Blue Jays, which ended up being one of the team’s biggest surprises of the year: The lopsided deal that landed infielder Gio Urshela, in August 2018, for cash considerations.
Urshela, who blossomed at the plate in 2019, was originally seen simply as a backup for Gleyber Torres at third base.
“We thought maybe he’d be a utility player for us,” Cashman told Matthews. “But never did we expect we would be sitting on Manny Machado, you know? But that’s the kind of season we had.”
The 27-year-old has impressed with the Yankees this year, posting a .316 batting average with a .891 OPS, 20 home runs and 73 RBIs after appearing in just 19 games with Toronto in 2018.
Though his production has dropped since returning from a brief IL stint in early September, Urshela looks like he’s on track to be a solid contributor on the Yankees’ playoff roster.
[relatedlinks]
