Marcus Stroman’s Yankees desire confirmed after ugly clubhouse scene
Marcus Stroman made no secret of wanting to play in New York. It seems that did not apply to the Mets.
After the Blue Jays’ win over Tampa Bay on Sunday, reporters heard a commotion while standing outside the clubhouse waiting to go in for postgame interviews. Breaking with long-standing norms, the Blue Jays didn’t open their clubhouse to the media, per reporters on the scene. When pressed on the issue, they told reporters, “there’s a reason it’s closed,” per Yahoo’s Nick Ashbourne.
The reason seems to be Stroman. A source told The Post’s Mike Puma that Stroman reacted with disappointment that he had not been traded to a contender. Stroman thought he would go to the Yankees, Red Sox or Astros. That comports with reporting from the Toronto Sun’s Rob Longley, who said the pitcher’s reaction to the trade was “not pretty.”
Stroman’s dad confirmed that his son was hoping he’d be headed to The Bronx, not Queens, in an interview with Newsday.
“He was hoping it was the Yankees a little bit,” Earl Stroman told the paper. “He was kind of psyched, maybe hoping to go there. I’m not going to tell you that he wasn’t. If he was to leave Toronto at all. Don’t forget, Marcus loved Toronto, his heart was there. The brass [management] didn’t kind of appreciate him as much as the fans did. The whole country took to him and they took to me.”
Stroman had done all but openly campaign to go to the Yankees, liking social media posts related to the team and being clear that he wanted the chance to pitch for them without coming out and saying it.
“I’m built for this,” Stroman, a Long Island native, said in June before a Blue Jays-Yankees series. “Anybody can say whatever, but I’m built for the bright lights. I’m not scared of it. I’ve never been. I take that ball each and every time with the pressure on. I love it.”
“… New York is like the mecca of the world. I love the excitement, I love the bright lights, I love competition, I love pressure, so I’ve always loved pitching here. Even if I haven’t necessarily pitched fairly well here, I’ve always enjoyed it. … I love the spotlight. The bigger the moment, that’s kind of where I’ve always wanted to be.”
Stroman will have the spotlight, the competition and the pressure of New York. But barring a massive turnaround or a surprise second trade, he’ll be sitting home in October.
“Anything he can help them do to win he’ll be happy,” Earl said. “Marcus is happy about being home, hopefully they make a push towards the playoffs.”
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