OAKLAND — Marcus Stroman didn’t want to fight it. He didn’t complain, didn’t pout and didn’t try to talk them out it.
When the New York Yankees decided to demote him from the rotation to the bullpen, he took it in stride.
“I have no ego nowadays, man,” he said. “I’m not this younger guy. I’m not 23-year-old me.
“Like I said, I know how much I’ve contributed to this team to get to this point, and I’m open to doing whatever they need me to do to help continue to contribute.”
Stroman spoke with The Athletic for several minutes about the move inside the visitors clubhouse before the game against the Oakland A’s at the Coliseum on Friday.
Stroman said manager Aaron Boone was “just straight up” and “open and honest” when he called the veteran right-hander into his office and explained to him why the team was moving him to the bullpen with the playoffs on the way.
Stroman understood.
“I’m not coming in (with) slumping shoulders or upset at all by this,” said Stroman, who was 10-8 with a 4.07 ERA in 28 starts. “I’ve been doing this for 10 years as a starter at a very high level. I realize how incredible our starters are.”
That echoed what Boone said when he revealed the decision about a week ago.
“Stro has been so good for us and so good in the room,” Boone said at the time. “He’s all about that team in there and all about the guys in there. Basically, his message to me is, ‘Whatever you need, and I’ll be ready to go.’ I think he just wants to be part of a winner.”
Stroman, 33, said he understands that his strength — getting ground-ball outs — isn’t what’s valued as highly throughout the game in the postseason as strikeouts. Stroman’s 6.7 strikeouts per nine innings was the lowest in the Yankees rotation.
“I’m a realist,” he said. “I realize the game’s valued around swing-and-miss, especially going into the playoffs. That’s not necessarily my forte. So, yeah, like I said, I know I can get outs in big moments with anybody. So I have that confidence. I know whenever you put me in a game, it’s not like I’m ever doubtful. It’s baseball. I can get anybody out at any moment.”
How do you feel about Marcus Stroman coming out of the Bullpen?
3.0IP 5H 1ER 3K 0BB (And the Save)
6 different pitches – Sinker Topped 90.9MPH pic.twitter.com/AShg4zYhBw— No Hitter (@Nohitternews) September 18, 2024
The Yankees signed Stroman to a two-year, $37 million deal with a third-year vesting option in the offseason after they lost the sweepstakes for Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the Los Angeles Dodgers and weren’t the top bidders for high-end free-agent starters such as Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery.
The arrival of Stroman thrilled lots of Yankees fans. On social media shortly after signing, Stroman posted photos of himself as a child wearing Yankees gear growing up on Long Island. He called it a “dream come true” when he was tapped to pitch the Yankees’ home opener.
And he started this season hot, going 7-3 with a 3.29 ERA over his first 17 starts. But he went 3-5 with a 5.47 ERA over his last 11 starts.
Ultimately, he was surpassed in the rotation by hotshot rookie Luis Gil, who is a candidate for American League Rookie of the Year, along with Clarke Schmidt and Nestor Cortes. Ace Gerrit Cole and lefty Carlos Rodón figure to be the Yankees’ first two starters of any playoff series. In the postseason, Stroman figures to work in long relief.
Stroman made his first relief appearance of the season Tuesday. In an 11-2 road beatdown of the Seattle Mariners, Stroman entered at the top of the seventh inning with a nine-run lead. He picked up his second career save by allowing one run over three innings, giving up five hits, including a home run, with three strikeouts. It was his ninth career relief appearance.
“I felt fine,” he said.
Still, Stroman said, he would be ready for just about any role the Yankees asked of him and that he never considered battling with the team over the role change.
“I’m someone who at this point just wants to contribute and do anything,” he said. “It would be crazy to go in and be combative. That’s not who I am anymore. Like I said, I’m in a really calm place in my life. I know how good I am. I know I can go out there and get outs with the best of them in any situation. I know you can throw me into a starting role after not starting for two weeks and I’m probably going to give you a good start. That’s just how I am. It’s a very mentalist game, and I feel like I’m a mental assassin. So, there’s not much I can’t cope with and get through.”
(Photo: Alika Jenner / Getty Images)
