Yankees release starting pitcher Marcus Stroman, will activate Luis Gil on Sunday

Yahoo

17 hours ago

The New York Yankees have released starting pitcher Marcus Stroman. The team announced the move on Friday.
His release comes after the Yankees added relievers David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird (in addition to utilityman José Caballero) before Thursday's MLB trade deadline. In his final start for the Yankees, Stroman allowed four runs and six hits with three strikeouts in a 7-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. He allowed four runs in each of his past two appearances.
Stroman, 34, compiled a 6.23 ERA with a 3-2 record in nine starts for the Yankees this season. He struck out only 26 batters in 39 innings, tying a career-low with an average of six strikeouts per nine innings.
The Yankees still owe Stroman the remaining $5.61 million on his contract for this season, per MLB Trade Rumors. He signed a two-year, $37 million deal with the Yankees. Any team that decides to add Stroman will pay him the prorated major-league minimum.
Stroman's role for 2025 was uncertain during spring training as the Yankees projected to have a full five-man rotation with Gerrit Cole, free-agent addition Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, 2024 American League Rookie of the Year Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt. He insisted that he was a starting pitcher and did not want to pitch out of the bullpen. As a result, Stroman was attached to trade rumors throughout the spring.
However, Cole underwent Tommy John surgery, while Gil and Schmidt began the season on the injured list. (Schmidt's season eventually ended with reconstructive surgery as well.) So Stroman essentially won a spot in the starting rotation by default. Yet he later missed two months of the early season with left knee inflammation.
Gil is scheduled to make his first start of the season on Sunday versus the Miami Marlins, which bumped Stroman from the rotation. Fried (12-4, 2.64 ERA) and Rodón (11-7, 3.18) will fill the first two spots on the Yankees' starting staff, followed by Gil, with rookies Will Warren (6-5, 4.64) and Cam Schlittler (1-1, 4.91) taking the last two turns.
In addition to releasing Stroman, the Yankees recently traded Carlos Carrasco to the Atlanta Braves and demoted Allan Winans to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to streamline their pitching staff.
Over 11 MLB seasons, Stroman has a 3.79 ERA and 90-87 record, averaging 7.4 strikeouts per nine innings. He's pitched for the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets and Chicago Cubs before joining the Yankees.