Inside The Mets

Despite Mets' desperate need for pitching, Marcus Stroman is not the answer

The New York Mets' already weak rotation continues to get worse with injuries, but a trade with the New York Yankees for Marcus Stroman would be bad for business.

Troy Brock

Feb 14, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (0) participates in spring training workouts at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Feb 14, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (0) participates in spring training workouts at George M. Steinbrenner Field. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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The New York Mets entered spring training with perhaps the weakest starting rotation of the big three in the National League East. After injuries to two of their key starters, it is even worse for wear.

The Mets finished 2024 with a combined 3.91 ERA from their rotation, good enough for 12th in MLB. The team did add Frankie Montas and Clay Holmes to the mix in the offseason, but Montas holds a career ERA of 4.09 and pitched to a 4.84 mark in 2024, while Holmes is transitioning from a reliever to a starter this year.

Montas is now on the shelf and will miss at least the first month of the year, and Sean Manaea, a major regression candidate from 2024, is now shut down as well with news of his injury breaking yesterday.

Read more: Mets' Sean Manaea has an oblique strain, will likely miss Opening Day

This has left the Mets with a projected Opening Day starting rotation of Kodai Senga (who pitched five innings in the regular season last year), David Peterson, Holmes, Paul Blackburn, and Griffin Canning. This is far from a rotation that strikes fear in the hearts of batters, especially those who suit up for the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.

The injuries have left the Mets even more desperate for pitching than they already were, and social media has begun clamoring for the team to trade for controversial New York Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman. It would be a move that would reunite the Mets with Stroman, but it is far from the move the Mets should make.

Stroman has been an openly outspoken player throughout his career, despite carrying a career ERA of 3.72 across 1,458.1 innings in 261 games. He has failed to qualify for the ERA title in each of the last three seasons, carrying an ERA of 3.93 in that time, with an even worse FIP of 4.01. Even in 2024, the pitcher posted a 4.31 ERA and 4.62 FIP, so the Yankees' infield defense was not the issue.

The best stretch of Stroman's career did come with the Mets in two seasons that bookended the pitcher sitting out 2020. In that time, he posted a 3.21 ERA across 238.2 innings in 44 games, with 218 strikeouts and a 126 ERA+. Since posting numbers indicative of being 26 percent better than league average, however, he has posted only a 106 ERA+, much closer to the 113 ERA+ he has carried across his career.

Contrary to popular belief, the Mets' infield defense is not that much better than the Yankees, either. While Francisco Lindor is a clear upgrade over Anthony Volpe, only Jeff McNeil, the projected Opening Day second baseman for the Mets, holds the other positive Outs Above Average tally for his position; both Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso are abhorrent at third base and first base, respectively.

There are a plethora of other off-the-field reasons why the Mets should not reunite with Stroman, but Stroman's performance on the field is enough reason to keep away from the controversial figure. The Mets do need pitching, but Marcus Stroman is far from the answer.

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Troy Brock
TROY BROCK

Troy Brock is an up and comer in the sports journalism landscape. After starting on Medium, he quickly made his way to online publications Last Word on Sports and Athlon before bringing his work to the esteemed Sports Illustrated. You can find Troy on Twitter/X @TroyBBaseball

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