Yankees' Aaron Boone on the Marcus Stroman situation: 'It is what it is'
TAMPA, Fla. — Marcus Stroman entered last spring, his first with the Yankees, with a clear role: unquestionably, a member of the starting rotation.
This spring?
Without a defined role but regardless of what that will be, assuming Stroman isn’t traded, it won’t be in the rotation.
Not with the Yankees adding star lefthander Max Fried in December, giving them a starting five of Gerrit Cole, Fried, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, Luis Gil.
“I mean, the situation is what it is,” Aaron Boone said Tuesday. “Saw him today, had a good conversation with him. Feel like he’s in a good mental place, he’s physically ready to go, and the bottom line is we’re getting him ready to pitch. Those things kind of have a way of working themselves out.”
Stroman, of course, could break camp as a starter should there be an injury to one of the aforementioned pitchers.
There also is the possibility of Stroman, owed $18.5 million this season, being traded, something the Yankees have been desperately trying to do since signing Fried to an eight-year, $218 million deal.
Stroman, as confident a player as one will find in the big leagues, was a first-half standout last season before crashing in the second half, going 3-5 with a 5.98 ERA (he was 7-4, 3.51 in the first half).
The former Patchogue-Medford High School standout was left off the Division Series roster, and though included on both the ALCS and World Series rosters, he did not pitch.
“It’s may be a little bit of an awkward situation, just with all the noise around it this winter,” Boone said. “But I’m comfortable with where he is in his focus and his physical preparation coming in.”
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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