It’s not a secret that the first-place New York Yankees are looking for starting pitching help. For as good as their offense has been this season, the Yankees have struggled to an extent from the bump. Their current series against the Minnesota Twins has magnified this.
Now, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network, New York has indeed had conversations with the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays about All-Star hurler Marcus Stroman.
Of the top-end pitchers on the trade market, Stroman is the most likely to be moved. Toronto is completely out of the playoff race and has decided to go with the youth movement. At 28 years old and with only one more year of team control, Stroman obviously doesn’t fit into those plans.
The All-Star pitched brilliantly in what might have been his final start in Toronto as a member of the Blue Jays Wednesday evening. Stroman gave up just five hits and one run over seven innings against the Cleveland Indians. He’s now pitching to a 2.96 ERA with a WHIP of under 1.30 on the season.
Any move to acquire Stroman would require a massive haul, something the Yankees might not be willing to pay unless they were to acquire a player of Noah Syndergaard’s ilk.
The trade deadline around MLB is less than a week away. Something will happen soon. What that might be is anyone’s best guess.