NORTH PORT, Fla. — For the first time since a spot opened up for him in the Yankees rotation, Marcus Stroman took the mound Sunday.
Not that much has changed in Stroman’s mind.
The veteran right-hander arrived at camp last month declaring that he was a starter, a statement that remains true and presumably will stay that way to begin the season as he slots into the rotation for the injured Luis Gil.
While the Yankees waited for their team doctor to read the MRI that Gil underwent on Saturday afternoon, after cutting his bullpen session short on Friday because of tightness around his shoulder, Stroman got through another start healthy.
He built his pitch count up to 43 while working into the third inning, though he got tagged for four runs on four hits — two home runs and two doubles — across 2 ²/₃ innings on a day when his bread-and-butter sinker didn’t always sink.
“Overall body-wise, I felt great,” Stroman, who was taken deep by Austin Riley and Matt Olson, said during an 11-1 loss to the Braves at CoolToday Park. “Just made some bad pitches that they capitalized on, but definitely good to get the workload up, get into the third and then just kind of build from there.”
The Yankees had insisted from the start that Stroman’s situation — after they were not able to trade him and at least some of his $18 million salary during the offseason — would work itself out over the course of spring training. It only took about three weeks for that to be the case.
But this is not the way Stroman, who is close with Gil, wanted it to happen.
“That’s one of my guys,” Stroman said. “Huge fan of Luis. It sucks, man. I don’t even know what to say to put it into words. He was a huge part of this team last year — incredible, incredible season. We’re gonna need him at some point in order to go where we want. Hopefully it’s not as bad as it is. Hopefully his recovery goes really well and we can have him back as fast as possible, because that’s an elite arm we want out there each and every time you can get him.”
The Yankees will be fortunate if they get through the rest of camp without any other injuries to their starting rotation.
Will Warren, who has looked especially sharp through his first two outings, looms as the next line of insurance.
But the Yankees typically prioritize maximizing their starting depth, meaning Warren appears likely to start the year at Triple-A if everyone else stays healthy.
While Gil was a key piece of their early-season success last year, so was Stroman.
Part of a rotation that got off to a strong start without the injured Gerrit Cole, Stroman went 7-3 with a 3.15 ERA across his first 16 starts.
But as was the case in 2023, when he was slowed by injuries, Stroman tailed off in the second half last year, pitching to a 5.97 ERA over his final 14 outings (13 starts) before not being used in the playoffs.
“I think maybe his stuff was a notch below in the second half,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Then he was a little unlucky with the play behind him. So because he’s not a guy that overwhelms people with stuff, that little drop-off probably hurt him a little bit. But I do think in a lot of ways, he was very underappreciated last year. … There’s no reason he can’t be that over the entire year. I know that’s his mindset. Hopefully that’s the case.”
General manager Brian Cashman said last month that the Yankees defense let Stroman down last season.
In theory, their improved infield unit this year should help Stroman, who induces a lot of ground balls when he is at his best.
“I’m a pitch-to-contact guy, so things can get frustrating at points,” Stroman said. “I want to win. I’m not someone who wants to just go out there and go through the motions. So yeah, I might get a little riled up occasionally, but that’s just the competitor in me.”
