Following prior rumors of mutual interest, Morosi states that the parties have engaged in “productive discussions” over the past few days.
Stroman, a 32-year-old native of Medford, New York, has pitched in New York City twice before, in 2019 and 2021, for the Mets. During his six years with the Blue Jays, he also got some experience pitching in the American League East.
Although his performance declined in the second half of the 2023 season, Stroman was still named to the All-Star team. He had a career 3.65 ERA in nine seasons, and in 25 starts he had a 3.95 ERA.
Not only did the Yankees miss out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but Frankie Montas, another possible target, signed with the Reds. So, the team is still in need of starting pitching.
Yankees Prоspect Poised For Breakout Season
Spending money is never a problem for the New York Yankees. Well, it’s not often. In most cases, though, they will gladly accept cold, hard cash if it means their team can perform better.
As part of this, there is the global market; for example, the Yankees scour the Caribbean and Latin America every year for promising young players, and they have been known to offer players large contracts in order to sign them.
Roger Arias is one example of such a player. Even MLB.com thinks 2024 will be his breakout year.
Arias was a member of the international signing pool for 2022 while he was still a minor in his home Dominican Republic. Four million dollars was a life-altering sum from the Yankees.
Even now, two years later, his progress has been sporadic at best.
Following his signing, he participated in the Dominican Summer League with the New York Yankees. His only contribution to 31 games was at bat.hitting 194 with 11 RBI and 3 home homers.Even though the Yankees didn’t think he was ready for a full-season affiliate last year, they brought him to the United States and placed him on their rookie squad in the Florida Complex League.
His statistics improved in just four games less. He had 26 RBI, six home runs, and an.267/.423/.505/.928 batting line.
So far, injuries have been his main concern. He was unable to play a full season in either 2022 or 2023 due to injuries to his thumb and wrist.However, Arias is already highly regarded and ranked as the Yankees’ sixth-best prоspect. His next stop might be in 2024, when he could play for the Yankees’ minor league affiliate in Tampa.
It might be a while before he reaches Yankee Stadium, but he has a great chance to make a significant improvement this year.