Stroman won’t pitch out of bullpen: ‘I’m a starter’
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Marcus Stroman returned to New York Yankees camp Friday after not appearing at the team’s first two voluntary workouts in Tampa, Fla.
Discussing his role with the team heading into 2025 since many projections have him as the team’s sixth starter, Stroman was direct on what he feels his role should be.
“I’m a starter. I won’t pitch in the bullpen, I’m a starter,” he told reporters, adding he will “see how it plays out” regarding the names projected to be ahead of him in the starting five.
When asked if he wanted to remain with the Yankees, Stroman said he had a close relationship with his teammates.
“I’m so grounded and calm, man. I truly flow through life with a grace now. Took a lot of work, I’m good, I’m good wherever I may be. I love everybody in this clubhouse, everybody knows that. You can ask my teammates; the relationship I have with them."
Stroman figures to be behind Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt in the rotation this season, all of whom had lower ERAs than Stroman in 2025.
The former Toronto Blue Jays right-hander was 10-9 with a 4.31 ERA in 30 appearances last season, but fared much better in the first half than the second. The Medford, N.Y., native was 7-4 with a 3.51 ERA in his first 19 outings but posted a 5.98 mark in his final 11, even pitching out of the bullpen once in September.
Stroman made 29 starts during the regular season but was again in the bullpen during the Yankees’ run to the World Series, though he did not appear in a postseason game. He said he had no issue with changing his role once the playoffs come around.
“Not at all. Playoffs, there’s different roles that calls for different, yeah, for you to be in different circumstances. I was completely fine with that,” he said. “But overall, I’m a starter, I’ve been doing this 10-plus years. And like I said, not many people do it at that level or can stay healthy at the level that I do to go out there and give 30plus starts. That I do pretty routinely.”
When asked Friday about potentially going to a six-man rotation, Yankees manager Aaron Boone indicated it wasn't likely.
“Never say never. I mean, I don’t necessarily see us doing that. But, you know, we’ll see where we’re at. Again, that’s a long way away. The reality is we’re probably getting 10, 11 guys ready to be starters and who knows how many of them you’re going to have to use right away or at some point during the season," Boone said.
The 33-year-old Stroman is in the final season of a two-year, $37 million contract that also includes a vesting option for 2026. He spent the first six seasons of his big-league career with the Blue Jays before being traded to the New York Mets in 2019. Stroman then signed with the Chicago Cubs in December of 2021 and joined the Yankees as a free agent in January of 2024.
Stroman has a career big league ERA of 3.72 in 261 appearances, 252 of them starts.