Marcus Stroman May As Well Have Worn A "Please Trade For Me!" Sign Into Yankee Stadium

Two things that we know for sure are that the New York Yankees are going to acquire some starting pitching before this year’s trade deadline, and that the Toronto Blue Jays are big-time ass. The Blue Jays are also in possession of 28-year-old starter Marcus Stroman, who, along with everyone else, seems to think he’d be a good fit in New York.

The Blue Jays started a three-game series against the Yankees in New York on Monday, and Stroman faced questions from the local media about potentially being traded. He didn’t come right out and say that he’d like nothing more than to be a Yankee before the season is over, but he came pretty damn close. From The Athletic:

“Obviously I’m on the Blue Jays and love everything about Toronto and this organization,” Stroman said before the Yankees’ 10-8 victory. “I try to keep that in the back of my head because obviously, you hear rumors all the time. I’m from New York and I’m a New York boy. That kind of says everything for itself.”

[...]

“I love it,” Stroman said of his home state. “New York’s like the Mecca of the world, right? I love excitement. I love bright lights. I love competition. I love pressure. I’ve always loved pitching here even though I haven’t necessarily pitched well here. I’ve always enjoyed it.”

Stroman’s having himself a nice season so far, with 100 innings and a 3.07 ERA to his name. He honestly makes a lot of sense as a trade target for the Yankees, who have an abundance of young hitting talent to make available. Meanwhile, the Blue Jays are in need of a full rebuild, and should be acquiring as many prospects as they can to help build around Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

More importantly, Stroman is the kind of player who is a lot more fun to watch when he has the opportunity to play in meaningful, high-stakes games. Imagine how great it would be to watch him do this against the Red Sox in a playoff game, rather than in some mid-June snoozer:

Clint Frazier for Marcus Stroman, anyone? New York gets a guy who can eat up some innings and antagonize the Red Sox, and Toronto gets their favorite kind of player: a moody and talented weirdo with cool hair. Everyone wins!