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Jorge Castillo
TAMPA, Fla. — New York Yankees right-hander Marcus Stroman, the subject of trade rumors in recent months and currently the odd man out of the team’s rotation, did not participate in the first two spring training workouts. He stayed away from camp after reporting for his physical Tuesday.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he “had an idea” that Stroman would miss workouts Wednesday and Thursday after speaking with the pitcher earlier in the week. Boone said he was in communication with him both Wednesday night and Thursday morning, declining to divulge Stroman’s reasoning for the absence.
“I’m not going to speak for him,” Boone said. “You can ask him for the reasons. I want him here, obviously, but we also have to respect the rules that are set up.”
Major League Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement stipulates that players are not obligated to report for spring training until Feb. 22. Boone said he anticipates Stroman will join the team in the next couple of days, though he declined to share the specific date.
“He’s a prideful player,” Boone said. “He’s a guy that’s had a great career. It’s a little bit of an awkward situation, obviously. So of course I want him here, and I’m trying to keep nudging him to get here. But, again, you also have to respect the fact that this is something players are allowed to do. There’s a mandatory date and he’s choosing that right now.”
Stroman, 33, does not project to make the Yankees’ five-man rotation — a group that includes Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil — and is owed $18.5 million this season with an $18 million player option for 2026 should he log at least 140 innings in 2025. The Yankees, as a result, have tried trading the two-time All-Star to shed his salary, sources told ESPN.
“There’s always rumors — false, true — and, frankly, that’s usually above me anyway until something is real,” Boone said. “So, no, we didn’t get into that at all other than to acknowledge that there’s been, obviously, the noise and the situation that he walks into and having six, seven, eight starters, all that. He’s ready to compete.”
Stroman recorded a 4.31 ERA in 30 appearances (29 starts) across 154 2/3 innings in his first season with the Yankees and 10th as a big leaguer. The veteran did not throw a pitch in the Yankees’ 14-game playoff run to the World Series after being left off their American League Division Series and World Series rosters but put on the AL Championship Series roster.
“This is a guy that’s been an outstanding pitcher in this league for a long time with a lot of pride,” Boone said. “But, no, I don’t sense any animus between he and I, and I’m confident and comfortable that he’s ready to come in here and do his job at a high level.”
As for whether he believes Stroman’s decision will bother teammates, Boone said he will “pay attention to it.”
“It doesn’t change my opinion of Marcus,” Cole said. “I like him.”
In other news from Yankees camp, Cole, who is nearly a year removed from sustaining an elbow injury that sidelined him until late June, said he felt good after throwing touching 95 mph three times during a 25-pitch live bullpen session Thursday.
“A lot of strikes; some good shapes, too,” Cole said.
Cole said he’s healthy and ahead of schedule in his throwing program compared to recent years.
Also, prospect Eric Reyzelman was discharged from a local hospital Thursday morning after he was kept overnight following an allergic reaction.
“He came in here today in good spirits,” Boone said.
Reyzelman, 23, is a non-roster invitee in major-league camp after recording a 1.93 ERA in 21 games across three minor league levels last season.
