If the Yankees really cared about culture or clubhouse tenor, then there would not have been a first season of Josh Donaldson, much less a second.
They would not have signed Carlos Rodon, who somehow in mocking fans and publicly disrespecting his pitching coach managed to be as bad when he wasn’t pitching as when he was with a 6.85 ERA.
They would not have traded for Alex Verdugo, who in his first public act as a Yankee during a teleconference with reporters took a not subtle knock at his former manager in Boston, Alex Cora, by mentioning that he expects his new manager, Aaron Boone, to have his back “instead of airing people out.”
Left out was that when Cora pulled Verdugo from one game and benched him for another last year it was not due to having a bad hair day, but rather due to Verdugo’s lack of hustle on the bases and continued problems with showing up late.
Perhaps as a welcoming gift, the Yankees can give Mr. Verdugo a mirror.
So to learn that the Yankees are at least considering Marcus Stroman, who — among other items — belittled Brian Cashman on social media after the Yankees did not trade for the righty in 2019 and said the GM said it was because he did not see Stroman in the postseason rotation.
But Stroman has gone from a “no way” possibility for the Yankees this offseason to at least in play because when this organization wants someone and/or are desperate, they will look the other way or ask Rougned Odor or Nick Swisher their opinion or pretty much create the scenario necessary to ignore the mirage of a Yankee Way.
And, boy, are these Yankees desperate.
Their trade for Juan Soto only made sense as part of a 1-2 in which they also significantly upgraded their rotation — a need accentuated, in part, because Rodon was so much closer to a No. 1 problem than a No. 2 starter last season.
To get Soto, the Yankees had to chip away further at their organizational pitching depth — a constant in the last few years. In this case, one piece surrendered was Michael King, who in terms of repertoire and temperament would have begun the 2024 season as the No. 2 starter to Gerrit Cole. There would have been real questions about if King had the durability for a full season of starts — but not more so than Rodon and Nestor Cortes.
Cortes made one start after May last year due to a left rotator cuff strain and let’s just say I will believe he is all the way back to 2022 Cortes when (if?) he pitches like that guy again.
After that is Clarke Schmidt, who encouragingly made it through last season as a starter — albeit a below league average one. For now, the No. 5 starter would be Clayton Beeter or Will Warren, who — let me do the math here — have combined for zero major league innings. Which would be fine if the Yankees like, say the Mets, were in a combination mode of trying to contend in 2024 while exploring what they had for 2025 and beyond.
But once the Yankees obtained Soto with just his walk year of control, they were pot committed to 2024. Which explains a $300 million bid to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who instead picked the Dodgers. The Yankees were left with a pitching field that they disliked due to cost in free agency or trade and/or personality and/or injury history.
Yet, the Yankees know they are going to have to hold their nose and push for one and possibly two of these types from at least Stroman, Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Shane Bieber, Corbin Burnes, Dylan Cease and Jesus Luzardo. I’m sure other choices exist.
What makes Stroman a potential union is that his desperation might meet that of the Yankees’ — expressed in that Stroman decided to cleanse the criticism of Cashman/the Yankees from his social media. Would he do that if he had a bunch of teams bidding up his services?
Stroman turned down a $21 million Cubs player option and entered free agency with a reputation for on-mound tenacity and online warring, for inducing groundballs from hitters and burning bridges with organizations, for high-end athleticism and high maintenance.
His fight with Cashman dates to 2019 when the GM publicly stated that he did not attempt to obtain Stroman from the Blue Jays because he wasn’t a “difference-maker” and “would be in our bullpen in the postseason.” Stroman, instead, was dealt to the Mets and began to take broadsides at Cashman, who actually could have used Stroman that postseason as much as he could have used Montgomery the last two years after trading him to the Cardinals because the organization did not view him as a postseason starter.
Where would Cashman sign up today to have Stroman and Montgomery considering his only sure postseason starter is Cole, who also is the only regular-season starter to trust. Cole is arguably the most indispensable player in the majors. The Yanks need to lessen that distinction. It is why they are deciding right now, which choice they can most live with among all the choices they don’t actually want to make.