Ex-Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman set to hit free agency

Former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman is set to become a free agent after opting out of his deal with the Chicago Cubs.

Stroman signed a three-year, $71 million deal with the Cubs in December 2021 but has chosen to opt out of the final year. As a result, he will be walking away from $21 million but figures to have plenty of suitors in free agency.

Stroman’s 2023 season was a bit of a rollercoaster for the Cubs. The 32-year-old was one of the MLB’s best pitchers through the first few months of the season but struggled shortly after due to injury. He wound up missing significant time due to a rib issue but was still able to put together a solid 3.58 ERA through 25 starts.

Since being traded by the Blue Jays to the New York Mets in July 2019, Stroman has remained a very efficient ground ball pitcher. Given the support he had from many Blue Jays fans throughout his five and a half seasons with the organization, you can expect to see many calling for Ross Atkins to bring him back.

Entertaining the idea of signing Stroman would perhaps help take a bit of heat off the Jays’ front office, who have taken some serious heat after a quick playoff exit at the hands of the Minnesota Twins.

Whether the Blue Jays would explore the idea of bringing back Stroman or not remains to be seen, however. Their rotation was already outstanding this past season, and four of their starters who had great success will be back in Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, Chris Bassitt, and Yusei Kikuchi. A return of Hyun-jin Ryu feels unlikely, but Alek Manoah could very well be in store for a bounce-back season. If the Jays management team feels he will regain his form, it’s hard to see where Stroman would fit in.

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