Blue Jays righty Marcus Stroman has been very good this year, but the Yankees may not want him as much as some other available players.
The 28-year-old out of Medford, New York has expressed interest in playing for the Bronx Bombers, but according to MLB Network's Jon Heyman, he may not be among their top targets.
Heyman said on the "Big Time Baseball Podcast":
"He is a Long Island boy and I'm sure he'd love to play on a contender, get to a contender, but he's got a pectoral issue, they say he's going to be ready right after the break, I think teams again are going to take a wait-and-see approach on him.
"I'm not sure the Yankees are that enamored with that idea, or they feel that he could (not) fit into their playoff rotation, he's been good in the clutch, maybe not like MadBum (Madison Bumgarner) who's an all-time great in terms of postseason performance, but Stroman did win the WBC and (has) some stuff going for him, but I'm not sure that he's that high on the Yankee list."
A couple of things to consider here.
First, if the Yankees are at 100 percent at playoff time — meaning Luis Severino and James Paxton are both healthy — Stroman will likely slot in as the team's No. 4 starter behind those two and All-Star Masahiro Tanaka, which would make it hard for New York to part with a guy like Clint Frazier, who may not be that much of a step up from CC Sabathia or J.A. Happ in playoff experience.
Second, the Yankees have reportedly inquired about a package featuring both Stroman and reliever Ken Giles, according to TSN. While New York isn't ruling out going after him, the same report indicated the Blue Jays may prefer to move the pair separately.
New York has been rumored to be interested in Stroman for much of the year, but now it doesn't look so certain the righty will be going to the Yankees.
However, Heyman has strictly stated he expects him to be moved, it's just a matter of to who.
The Red Sox are looking into picking up pitchers as are the Twins and the Brewers, so those teams could be his ultimate landing spot rather than the Big Apple.
Stroman is 5-9 with a 3.18 ERA this season. He has one year of arbitration remaining before he becomes a free agent.