The Yankees have reportedly reached an agreement on a two-year, $37 million contract with free-agent right-hander Marcus Stroman.
The deal include a third-year vesting option.
The club has not confirmed the deal, which is pending a physical.
If Stroman reaches 140 innings pitched in 2025, he gets a player option for 2026 worth $18 million, a source told Feinsand.
Stroman has been linked to the Yankees before. In 2019, New York had interest in his services before the Trade Deadline.
“I’m from New York and I’m a New York boy. That kind of says everything for itself,” Stroman said back then.
“I love pitching [at Yankee Stadium]. New York is like the mecca of the world. I love excitement, the bright lights, competition, I love pressure. I always loved pitching here. I haven’t necessarily pitched well. I always enjoyed it. Yankee lineups are brutal. They are kind of hard to navigate. I love the spotlight. The bigger the moment, that’s what I kind of wanted it to be.”
Stroman has been a consistent starter for the bulk of his career since debuting with the Blue Jays in 2014.
His ERA+ has been no worse than 113 in any of the past four seasons. He registered that 113 last season.
He carried a 2.28 ERA and a .536 opponents’ OPS through his first 16 starts with the Cubs en route to making his second All-Star team.
But Stroman’s 2023 campaign took a downturn in July as he allowed 27 earned runs across 26 2/3 innings during the month before landing on the injured list Aug. 2 with right hip inflammation.
Stroman’s return to the mound was delayed by a right rib cartilage fracture and once he rejoined the Cubs on Sept. 15, he threw just eight innings over four relief appearances to close out the year.
Those injuries also left Stroman’s innings total below 140 for the second straight season.
He ended the year with an 11.7% K-BB walk rate, which ranked 67th out of 87 pitchers who tossed at least 130 innings.
