Former New York Yankees Hitting Coach Discusses Star's Refusal To Join Bullpen

New York Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman is already making waves with his refusal to pitch out of the bullpen, and one of their former coaches weighed in.

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New York Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman did not have an impressive first season with the team in 2024. The 33-year-old's velocity was down while both his ERA (4.31) and WHIP (1.468) were up.

Each of those downward trajectories have made Stroman's spot in the rotation shaky, at best.

He began the 2025 season by showing up to spring training a few days after pitchers and catchers reported.

He then gave the media a few memorable quotes, including, "I'm a starter. I don't pitch in the bullpen. I'm a starter."

Message received.

On his "The Mayor's Office" podcast, former Yankees hitting coach Sean Casey weighed in on Stroman's refusal to join the bullpen.

Casey started with the impact this kind of distraction can have on a team, saying "You see the business of it dude, at the end of the day, I mean, it sounds like Stroman has fit well in that clubhouse. You know, his track record is always kind of, you know, there's always something with Marcus Stroman. That's the thing that everyone says. But at the end of the day, it's his career and he feels that he's a starter, he signed there to be a starter."

Casey continued, "You know, when you're with the Yankees you take that risk that they can sign free agents, they have the money to do it."

That's exactly what New York did this offseason, bringing in difference making lefty Max Fried to reinforce their rotation.

Casey then talked about the situation Stroman faces in his career.

"At times in our career we got to look ourselves in the mirror and say am I one of the top five guys? If I was evaluating, if I was the manager, I'm evaluating these guys, am I one of the top five guys? And, you know, right now I think, to a man, if we're looking from the outside, the second half that he had, you'd say no. He wasn't even on the roster for the postseason," he said.

Casey added, "Results aren't random, results reveal you're not getting it done. This is big boy land, this is the Big Leagues, this is The Show."

That's exactly why the Yankees signed Fried to a $218 million contract.

New York is not in the business of waiting around for veterans to get it together, championships are the expectation.

Stroman has to earn his way back into a prominent role.

Casey described the type of mindset Stroman should adopt, "This has a way of always working itself out. Someone goes down, so come in and prepare to start, and if you get sent to the bullpen you're making $18 million a year or whatever, go do your job. You signed for two years to pitch for the New York Yankees, hopefully as a starter. But at the end of the day, if you were dominant and doing your job, you'd be a starter."

He capped off his stance on the matter with, "Be better. Be better. Don't pass the buck."

Casey is a three-time All Star who put together a noteworthy career himself.

Given his background as a player paired with his experience as a coach, he's the exact kind of voice Stroman should listen to when it comes to this situation.