Former Cubs All-Star Rejected Offers from Angels, Giants in Free Agency
Tuesday, former Chicago Cubs All-Star Marcus Stroman finalized a two-year, $37 million contract with the New York Yankees. The deal includes a conditional player option for 2026, if Stroman pitches a minimum of 140 innings in 2025.
The star right-hander had offers from other teams, including the Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco Giants. Rather than take his talents to the West Coast, the 32 year-old chose to return to his home state. Stroman grew up in Medford, New York.
He isn't the only noteworthy free agent to pass on the opportunity to play for the Giants and the Angels.
In recent years, the Giants have been linked to stars such as Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Shohei Ohtani and Trea Turner, but the club has come up short in free agency.
Last week, Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon told the Jack Vita Show that he didn't think Ohtani would re-sign with the club in free agency.
"Nah, I didn’t think he was coming back," Rendon said. "No. I think it's just the magnitude of what he brings to baseball outside of the field, right? If you think about it, only the Angels know the kind of market that he can bring to a baseball organization. So only Arte (Moreno) and everyone in the Angels organization knows the kind of TV ratings and the kind of marketing that he can bring, because he's been with us for the past six years. And all these other teams are kind of just guessing. They're thinking that, 'Alright, we can probably do this, we can probably do that, but what if he exceeds this, and what if he exceeds that?'"
Rendon was not surprised that Ohtani landed on a star-studded Los Angeles Dodgers team.
"And I think the Dodgers just being the Dodgers, and obviously, I heard that there were other teams out there too that were willing to pay that much, I think they were willing to take that gamble and bring in what he can bring in outside of baseball to cover that contract. And so, he had to explore somewhere else, right? And I think just the fact, what he does to the game of baseball, they're going to make so much money off of him, it's unbelievable. That $700 million? They're going to make that in a handful of years. And then everything else after that is going to be a profit."
With Ohtani out of Anaheim, expect the Angels to add at least one starting pitcher and one free agent bat this winter. As it pertains to what's left on the starting pitching market, two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell and 2023 World Series champion Jordan Montgomery appear to be the cream of the crop.
Upon the conclusion of the 2023 season, Stroman informed the Cubs that he would opt out of the final year of his contract with the club. Stroman's departure opened up a spot in the Cubs' rotation for 2024. Last week, the club finalized a four-year, $53 million contract with Japanese star Shota Imanaga, who is expected to take Stroman's place in the rotation.
The righty was named an All-Star for the second time in his career during 2023. He was fantastic through his first 16 starts of the season, logging a 2.28 ERA across 98 2/3 innings pitched. Stroman hit a snag in late June, and from that point on, posted an 8.29 ERA over nine starts and two relief appearances, while spending time on the IL.
