Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees' Aaron Boone Addresses Marcus Stroman's Reaction to Bullpen Move

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone got honest about how Marcus Stroman handled being moved to the bullpen.

Grant Young

Sep 10, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (0) hands the ball to manager Aaron Boone (17) after being relieved sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Sep 10, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (0) hands the ball to manager Aaron Boone (17) after being relieved sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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Prior to the New York Yankees' 5-4 defeat over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night, it was announced that pitcher Marcus Stroman would be moved into the bullpen for this upcoming turn of the rotation.

As a result, Nestor Cortes — who had recently been relegated to the bullpen to accommodate for starters Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt returning from the IL last weekend — is slated to make his next scheduled start.

Given that Stroman has started in 251 of the 259 MLB games he has pitched in across his career, there was some question about how he would handle this bullpen move. But Yankees manager Aaron Boone made it clear on Friday that the 33-year-old took the news about as good as can be.

“Stro has been so good for us and so good in the room,” Boone said, per MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. “He’s all about that team in there and all about the guys in there. Basically, his message to me is, ‘Whatever you need, and I’ll be ready to go.’ I think he just wants to be part of a winner.”

Everybody within the Yankees' universe has got to love this response from Stroman, who will be available to pitch out of the bullpen as early as Sunday.

While Stroman has gone a respectable 10-8 with a 4.07 ERA in 148.1 innings pitched this season, his struggles since the All-Star break (a 5.40 ERA in nine starts) likely forced Boone's hand, now that he has six potential starting pitchers healthy and rearing to go.

It will be interesting to see how Boone manages his rotation in the playoffs, as most teams use a four-man staff. But regardless of how Stroman is utilized, his struggles during the season will be forgotten if he excels in the postseason.

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Grant Young

GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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