YANKEES APPEAR "ON HOLD" UNTIL STROMAN IS GONZO

The Bronx Bombers appear to be spinning their wheels—and it’s all thanks to Marcus Stroman’s contract. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the team can’t make big moves until they free themselves from Stroman’s hefty paycheck. Problem is, unloading his deal has been tricky.

Why the struggle? Well, there’s still a decent lineup of free-agent pitchers who are way more tempting than Stroman. Imagine this: instead of paying Stroman $18 million in 2025, teams could snag guys like Max Scherzer or Jack Flaherty on short-term contracts. You can see why Stroman’s deal isn’t exactly flying off the shelves.

Speaking of Flaherty, the Yankees have danced this tango before. Remember back in November (read here) when we all thought Flaherty might be donning pinstripes? Turns out, the Yankees were this close to trading for him at the deadline, only to back out after taking a peek at his medical reports. But guess what? Flaherty proved them wrong, pitching solidly down the stretch and into October. Yankees, if you’re still overthinking his health, it’s time to breathe deep and roll the dice—pitchers aren’t made of vibranium, after all. Sign the guy and watch the magic happen.

As for Scherzer, the idea of him signing a short-term deal with the Yankees is spicy. But let’s be real: Max doesn’t exactly scream "pinstripe passion." Still, it’s a good sign the Yankees are sniffing around that kind of talent. But again, everything comes back to Stroman.

Here’s the tea: Stroman’s 2023 season was... meh. He went 10-9 with a lackluster 4.31 ERA over 29 starts. By playoff time, he wasn’t even on the Yankees’ ALDS roster. And to make matters worse, if he pitches more than 140 innings in 2025, his contract triggers an $18 million player option for 2026. Talk about a landmine. No team is jumping at the chance to take that risk, and the Yankees need to think long and hard about how to package him in a trade.

In the end, the Stroman experiment was like trying a new recipe that looked amazing in the cookbook but tasted like cardboard. The Yankees took a chance, but it just didn’t work out. Time to cut the losses, clear the books, and aim for pitchers who can actually bring the heat. Let’s hope Cashman has a trick or two up his sleeve because the Yankees can’t afford to be stuck in neutral much longer.