Yankees' Marcus Stroman ends holdout, then starts new fire in interview.
Photo credit: https://www.nj.com/yankees
Former Blue Jay Marcus Stroman takes a defiant stance as he reports to Yankees Spring Training. The spring training holdout was over after two days.
Marcus Stroman met with reporters for 11 minutes outside the clubhouse by saying he absolutely will NOT pitch out of the bullpen if he's not traded and the Yankees' rotation depth chart is the same on Opening Day as it is now.
"I'm a starter. I won't pitch in the bullpen. I'm a starter."
Explaining his decision to skip two days of workouts, Stroman sadly talked about losing his Malibu home last month in the Los Angeles fires while making it clear over and over that he is a starting pitcher and that will not change.
A reporter asked: What do you hope for this season?
Stroman:
" I'm truly focused on today. Like I said, I'm very grounded and very calm. Nothing can really throw me off. My life's incredible. My son's incredible. My family's incredible. So there's nothing I can take away from that."
Reporter: Considering your pedigree, could you handle being a reliever?
Stroman:
"I'm a starter. I'm a starter."
Reporter: Right now you're a starter."
Stroman:
" I'm a starter. We'll see how it plays out. I'm a starter."
Reporter: Did you express to Boone that you won't pitch in relief?
Stroman:
"I don't think it needs to be expressed."
Reporter: Why show up today?
Stroman:
"I just felt like today was a good day to come. Valentine's Day. It seemed like the vibe would be proper."
Reporter: If it's the end of spring and you're not in rotation and still here, are you going to leave the team again?
Stroman:
I'm going to be completely honest. I haven't thought about tomorrow. The state that I'm in, the perspective that I live through, it's hard for me to even look to a moment that there's so many unpredictables that can happen up until that point. I'm not someone who lives level of uncertainty. I'm very present and grounded, so I'm good.
Reporter: When you say I'm a starter, that sounds like a message to Cashman saying, «If I'm not in rotation, you better get rid of me because I'm not going to be in the bullpen.'
Stroman:
"I'm a starter. That's me making the most basic, brief statement, I'm a starter my entire career. Go look at the numbers. And how many people can stay healthy and do it 30-plus starts year after year after year, especially after they said I can never do it at my size. I'm a starter."
Reporter: The Yankees have a very deep rotation. You probably wouldn't be in this situation in a lot of different places. Do you think that you will be given a fair chance this spring to beat out somebody that's above you on the depth chart?
Stroman:
"I'm not really concerned to be honest. I know I'm someone who's ready to go 30-plus starts. We'll see how it plays out. I'm not even slightly worried about it."
Aaron Boone was asked about Marcus Stroman's "I'm a starter" comments
"Well first of all, Happy Valentine's Day. It's February 14th. You're getting way ahead of this thing. We're building him up to be a starting pitcher. As we go when things come up, we'll address them"
Dan Clark had this to say about Stroman:
"There aren't many MLB players, past or present, that I dislike more than Marcus Stroman. In my opinion, he repeatedly chooses himself over his teammates, he is often combative, and he is immature. His career 3.72 ERA is only slightly better than mediocre. Delusions of grandeur."
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 14 | 237 ANSWERS Yankees' Marcus Stroman ends holdout, then starts new fire in interview. Are you happy that the Blue Jays traded Stroman when they did? | ||
| Yes | 187 | 78.9 % |
| No | 50 | 21.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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