Marcus Stroman has a long memory.
Two years after Brian Cashman said Stroman wasn’t a “difference-maker,” the pitcher got on Twitter to remind everyone of the slight.
“This tweet will continue to age unbelievably well,” Stroman tweeted, responding to a tweet from October 2020 that referenced the 2019 quote.
“Besides [Gerrit] Cole, there’s no current Yankee pitcher who will be anywhere in my league over the next 5-7 years,” Stroman tweeted then. “Their pitching always folds in the end. That lineup and payroll should be winning World Series’ left and right…yet they’re in a drought. Lol.”
Stroman, who opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns, came back with an impressive 2021. In 33 starts, he had a 3.02 ERA and 3.49 FIP.
Meanwhile, the Yankees did indeed struggle to get their starting rotation in order. Stroman’s ERA was better than any Yankee starter except Nestor Cortes Jr. (who made 16 starts to Stroman’s 33).
Certainly, Cashman’s comment that Stroman “would be in our bullpen in the postseason” would not have been the case. Stroman might have started Game 2 of a playoff series had the Yankees made it that far, behind only Cole.
After signing a one-year deal for 2021, Stroman likely did enough to help himself in the free agent market. As far as that goes, one thing seems clear: he won’t be signing with the Yankees.