NEW YORK — In his first news conference of the year, Marcus Stroman repeated 11 times in 10 minutes that he viewed himself as a major-league starting pitcher. Technically, Stroman was right. He has pitched in 264 games across his 11 seasons in the big leagues, and only 10 of his outings have come out of the bullpen. But his days of being one of the New York Yankees’ five starting pitchers should be numbered.
Stroman allowed five runs on four hits and three walks and registered only two outs Friday night against the San Francisco Giants. Yankees manager Aaron Boone pulled Stroman after the Giants batted around in the first inning. Boone said Stroman, who was unavailable to the media after the game, informed the training staff after getting pulled that his left knee was “bugging” him. He underwent X-rays and went to a hospital for further imaging. No matter what the tests conclude, Stroman does not appear to be a viable starter despite Boone’s belief the veteran can still be productive.
“I do, because I think the movement qualities are there,” Boone said after the Yankees’ 9-1 loss in rain-soaked conditions. “Again, it’s less margin for error, and there’s probably some adjustments we can all make with him that hopefully allow him to go out there and be effective because the stuff’s not much different than the first half of last season to the second half to now. We got to execute a little better.”
The less margin for error Boone is speaking of refers to the quality of Stroman’s stuff. As detailed by The Athletic earlier this week, Stroman entered Friday’s start among the bottom of all starting pitchers in Stuff+, which measures the physical characteristics of a pitcher’s arsenal. The worse a pitcher’s stuff is, the more precise they have to be with their command so opposing batters can’t tee off against them. MLB hitters won’t miss mistakes against Stroman because his velocity is consistently in the low 90s and high 80s.
JUNG HOO LEE HOME RUN 🚨
이정후 홈런 pic.twitter.com/OD2qbdCyFK
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) April 11, 2025
In the first inning, Yankees catcher Austin Wells set up low and outside for a sinker that ended up in the heart of the plate for Jung Hoo Lee, who deposited the 89.4 mph pitch over the right-field wall for a three-run home run. Two batters later, Wells set up high and tight for a fastball to LaMonte Wade Jr. that leaked over the plate; Wade laced the 88.4 mph pitch down the right-field line for a two-run double. Boone believes command hasn’t been an issue for Stroman.
“You watch the game and he’s nailing the glove,” Boone said. “He wants to set up a little off the plate there. We probably could make some adjustments there. We got to keep working at it with everyone that we have.”
Since June 1, 2024, no pitcher who has thrown at least 90 innings has a worse ERA than Stroman’s 6.38. If the Yankees believe the movement qualities align with their expectations for Stroman, that presents a problem, as the results indicate he has been the least effective starter in the league for almost a full calendar year. The Yankees demonstrated they do not fully trust Stroman’s abilities, evidenced by his zero innings pitched in the postseason and their attempts all offseason to offload his salary in a trade that never materialized.
It is fair to say the two-year, $37 million contract, which includes a vesting option for the 2026 season, was a giant mistake for the Yankees’ front office. They are stuck with a sunk cost. They’ll likely try to ensure he doesn’t exceed 140 innings pitched this year, which would trigger his $18 million option for next season.
Clarke Schmidt is expected back in the Yankees’ rotation early next week after completing his two rehab assignment starts. The Yankees could place Stroman on the injured list, even if his knee injury is deemed minor. That would allow them to keep Carlos Carrasco and Will Warren in the rotation, but the state of the rotation is bleak. In the 47 1/3 innings pitched by starters not named Max Fried, the Yankees have a 7.23 ERA. Replacing Stroman with Schmidt in the interim should help stabilize the Yankees’ rotation, but they’ll still need better out of Carrasco, Warren and Carlos Rodón.
Stroman was adamant in spring training that he would not pitch out of the bullpen this season. For the Yankees’ rotation to have the highest likelihood of success, Stroman should not see the mound in any capacity anytime soon.
(Photo: Mike Stobe / Getty Images)