Toronto Blue Jays: Stroman Should not be Traded to the Yankees

For the past year, Marcus Stroman name has been all over the media trade rumors. If the Toronto Blue Jays are so keen to deal him this year, they should align themselves with the San Diego Padres, not the New York Yankees.

Marcus Stroman has been on an absolute tear this year for the Toronto Blue Jays.

The 5’7 right-handed out of Duke has been the best pitcher on the Jays by far this season and with little to no run support, Stroman has an unfortunate 5-9 record but his ERA is now at a career-best 3.04.

He’s getting the guys out, his team is just not getting runs for him to win ball games.

It is no secret the Toronto Blue Jays are in the midst of a rebuild, with young prospects like Cavan Biggio, Rowdy Tellez, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. playing on the big league roster.

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Since the offseason, Stroman has been involved in trade rumors linking him to the Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, and most recently, the New York Yankees.

Trading with the Yankees currently seems like the best option if the Blue Jays decide to go that route.

The organization is weak in outfield depth and the pinstripes could offer up a big prospect in return.

One of the Yankees top prospect outfielders, Clint Frazier, has been involved in trade rumors as well. He has seen some big league action over the past two years, but with a loaded outfield in the Bronx, Frazier has nowhere to play.

This would almost seem like a no brainer, but there are catches to this type of deal.

For one, the Jays would be trading within the division.

This would mean that for the next two years (Stroman doesn’t become a free agent until after next year), anytime the Jays play the Yankees, the more than likely will face Stroman.

This would be an absolute dagger to Blue Jays fans, as the fan base has grown accustomed to Marcus and would probably riot if he gets traded (especially to the Yanks).

Not to mention that Stroman has been dealing this year.

Playing against him for at least the next two years would hurt the Toronto Blue Jays winning percentage moving forward with how many times the Jays play within their division.

Another reason I dislike a trade to the Yankees is I don’t believe a Frazier-Stroman straight up deal is worth its salt.

Don’t get me wrong, Frazier would most definitely help the Blue Jays outfield and would make the team better.

But if the Yankees are acquiring what would be the best starting pitcher on their roster at the moment, they should have to overpay.

Especially since acquiring Stroman would be used to help push the Yankees into the playoffs this year.

The Blue Jays would need more than just Frazier to compete this deal, most likely a 20-30 ranked pitching prospects like Domingo Acevedo or a pitcher with some control but big league experience like Nestor Cortes Jr.

Yankees fans will see this viewpoint differently, but if you want to make the playoffs with Stroman on your rotation, you will most likely have to overpay.

Considering the Bronx Bombers do have a chance to be playoff bound, they may consider this trade (even though GM Brian Cashman wants players with more control for Frazier led deals).

To be completely honest, I really wish the Blue Jays would extend Stroman over trading him to another team. With every passing day, this seems less and less likely.

If the Jays do trade Stroman, I would think he would be traded to a team like the Cincinnati Reds or the San Diego Padres.

One reason being the Padres possess one of the best farm systems in the league and the Jays could snag a very good haul in return.

The main issue being that the Padres are only at .500 this season, and could be looking to rebuild rather than acquire a playoff push type of pitcher with only two years of control.

I mentioned the Reds mostly because of the trade rumors this offseason, but mostly because Stroman would be out of the American League and the Jays wouldn’t have to face him. This team seems like the least likely to acquire the right hander.

Whatever the Blue Jays front office decides to do, it seems more and more likely that Stroman will be on another team by the end of this year.

If you thought the Vancouver riots in 2011 were rough, wait until Stroman gets traded.

The Rogers Centre will burn.