The Yankees‘ starting rotation started the 2024 season on a hot note, quickly cementing themselves as one of the best in the league. However, in the last two months, they have seen a downward trend from most of the team’s primary starters, with even Ace Gerrit Cole hitting a few rough patches and recently dealing with fatigue that forced him to bail out of his most recent start.
On Friday night, the Yankees got another reminder that veteran pitcher Marcus Stroman has lost his efficiency. Now 33 years old, Stroman signed a two-year, $37 million deal, averaging $18.5 million. If he tosses 140 innings in 2025, his 2026 vesting option will become a player option.
The Yankees Might Have a Tough Marcus Stroman Decision to Make
With that being said, Marcus hosts a 4.10 ERA, including career-low strikeouts and career highs in walks and home runs per nine. His underlying metrics are concerning, and that’s saying it kindly. He has a 4.82 xERA and has experienced a massive drop-off in velocity. Last season, he averaged 92.2 mph on his fastball, a number that has dropped to 90.6.
In fact, Stroman’s most-used pitch is his sinker, which now sits at 89.9 mph, a concerning metric that is accompanied by a 6% decrease in vertical movement. General manager Brian Cashman opted out of acquiring Jack Flaherty from the Detroit Tigers, despite the fact the Yankees could’ve used another top starter.
Swapping Stroman for Clarke Schmidt
Instead, Cashman referenced several players the team hopes to get back from the injured list soon. One of those pieces is 28-year-old Clarke Schmidt, who could end up stealing Stroman’s job in the rotation since the team certainly won’t use six pitchers in the group. Before Schmidt went down, he hosted a 2.52 ERA, including 9.94 strikeouts per nine, 84.1% left on base rate 39% rate over 60.2 innings.
For the most part, Schmidt was putting together encouraging numbers, including a 94th percentile breaking ball run value, 85th percentile whiff rate, and 80th percentile strikeout rate. In other words, he was throwing with confidence, and the numbers reflected that. He actually increased his cutter usage from 27.9% last year to 35.6% this year, receiving positive results with 1.1 mph more velocity.
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Schmidt expects to return at some point in August and is building up to face live hitters within the next few weeks. The Yankees need his support, whether it be in the rotation or as a bullpen piece. His versatility is extremely valuable, and it will pose a difficult decision for Aaron Boone as well as what he wants to do with Stroman, who’s given up 15 runs in his last three appearances combined.